Vic funeral boss tried to stop cremation

A Melbourne funeral director has failed in his bid to stop a cremation hours before the service, claiming he needed the body as evidence to clear his name.

White Dove Funerals managing director Ian Gibson claimed he had been defamed by a woman who suggested the company broke her mother's bones to fit her into a coffin.

Three hours before Nicole Appleton was to farewell her mother Michelle on Monday afternoon, Mr Gibson wanted a court to postpone the funeral so a coroner could check the body.

Nicole Appleton took to Facebook on Friday night, writing that White Dove Funerals had mistreated her mother's body by "jamming" it into a coffin that was too small.

"The coffin was tiny and I would be amazed if they haven't broken her bones jamming her in there," part of the post reads.

Mr Gibson took court action on Monday.

"This is going to be detrimental to my business," Mr Gibson told the Victorian Supreme Court.

White Dove Funerals' staff collected and prepared Ms Appleton's body after she died on November 14.

Disappointed with their treatment, her daughter then organised for Chelsea Heights' Gateway Grant Funeral Home to take over and collect Ms Appleton's body from White Dove in Dandenong South.

Nicole Appleton also claimed her mother, 42, had black eyes and that the funeral flowers were dying.

Mr Gibson received death threats after the post and was called a dog, he told the court.

But he said the suggestion that Ms Appleton's bones were broken was particularly damaging to his business, and he wanted the coroner to examine her body to prove it wrong.

He flagged legal action against Nicole Appleton.

"It's all defamatory," Mr Gibson told the court.

"I'm an innocent victim of this."

Mr Gibson said Gateway Grant staff had viewed Ms Appleton's body when they collected her, and there were no issues.

But the embalmer for Gateway Grant, who prepared a statement for the court, alleged Ms Appleton's body was "distorted".

Justice Kim Hargrave refused to stop the funeral, but left the door open for a defamation case.

He said the Facebook post did not directly allege White Dove Funerals had broken Ms Appleton's bones.

There was enough evidence available for a possible defamation case, without the coroner having to examine her body.

"I understand there is damage to the reputation of the proposed plaintiff," Justice Hargrave said.

"But on the other hand, I must weigh the fact it sought to interfere with a regularly arranged funeral to take place in a couple of hours."