ALLENTOWN — Pennsylvania’s failure to update rules that govern funeral homes and undertakers could wind up burying taxpayers.

A Harrisburg-based law firm is seeking nearly $1.4 million in attorneys’ fees after successfully suing the state board that regulates the funeral industry. Post & Schell said its attorneys spent nearly 6,000 hours on litigation it contends will “have a profound, and positive, impact on the funeral profession and the public.”

Earlier this month, a federal judge struck down key provisions of the state’s 60-year-old Funeral Director Law, calling them antiquated and unconstitutional. Judge John Jones III also criticized the State Board of Funeral Directors for failing to update regulations on ownership of funeral parlors, the use of trade names and a host of other issues raised by the plaintiffs, a group of about 30 funeral directors.

Lead attorney James Kutz said the state litigated every conceivable issue — including a ban on serving food in funeral homes that Jones ultimately struck down — dramatically increasing the number of hours his eight-member team was forced to spend on the lawsuit. His clients prevailed on 11 of 12 claims.

“This complex litigation required substantial knowledge of the deathcare industry and the Byzantine regulation of that industry in Pennsylvania, as well as expertise in a broad array of complex constitutional issues,” Kutz’s fee request said.

The state has not indicated whether it will appeal Jones’ ruling. Ronald Ruman, a spokesman for the funeral directors board, declined comment Tuesday on either the ruling or the fee request.

Some lawmakers are pressing for an appeal.

Fran Cleaver, executive director of the Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee, said Wednesday that lawmakers object to the portion of Jones’ ruling that deals with inspections. The judge held the state’s practice of unannounced and warrantless inspections of funeral homes was unconstitutional because it failed to satisfy certain legal criteria for such inspections.

“The language of the order raises enormous concerns in this building about protecting people through inspections,” Cleaver said, recalling a case in which a pair of funeral home operators in Philadelphia were convicted of trafficking in body parts.

Cleaver said a legislative update of the funeral home law is not in the works, saying lawmakers want to wait on a possible state appeal of Jones’ ruling. Regulatory fixes from the State Board of Funeral Directors are also a possibility, she said.