Harvard Wins Dismissal in Body Snatching Case on Uniform Anatomical Gift Act Immunity

Body snatching is very lucrative.

Speaking of body snatchers, Harvard actually had one running its morgue for awhile.  No kidding, the Medical School’s Mortuary Director was selling donated body parts on the black market.  Here is how the U.S. Attorney described the scheme when they charged him:

The indictments and information allege that a nationwide network of individuals bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.  The charges allege that from 2018 through 2022, Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue for the Anatomical Gifts Program at Harvard Medical School, located in Boston, Massachusetts, stole organs and other parts of cadavers donated for medical research and education before their scheduled cremations.  Lodge at times transported stolen remains from Boston to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold the remains to Katrina Maclean, Joshua Taylor, and others, making arrangements via cellular telephone and social media websites.  At times, Cedric Lodge allowed Maclean and Taylor to enter the morgue at Harvard Medical School and examine cadavers to choose what to purchase.  On some occasions, Taylor transported stolen remains back to Pennsylvania.  On other occasions, the Lodges shipped stolen remains to Taylor and others out of state.

Cedric is scheduled to be tried this spring.  Jeremy Pauley, pictured below, pled guilty to buying about 40 human skulls from Cedric.  He kept them all in his little apartment.  Scotty better beam me quickly because it is getting really crazy here on planet Earth.

Anyway, family members sued Harvard in what would normally be a slam dunk instance of negligent hiring or supervision, or  “scope of employment” vicarious liability.  Crazy right, that an agent’s illegal actions clearly contrary to the employers’ rules, desires or intentions can be within the “scope of employment?”  But yep, that’s the law.  It’s just that the Uniform Anatomical Gifts Act abrogates those normal agency principals.  Here is Michigan’s version of qualified immunity:

(1) A person that acts in good faith in accord with the terms of this part or with the anatomical gift laws of another state or a foreign country is not liable for damages in any civil or administrative action or subject to prosecution in any criminal proceeding.

A trial judge in Massachusetts dismissed an action against Harvard based on the body snatching scandal.  Here is the opening paragraphs from the Order of Dismissal: 

DECISION AND ORDER ALLOWING MOTIONS TO DISMISS ALL CLAIMS AGAINST THE THREE HARVARD DEFENDANTS

The former manager of the morgue at the Harvard Medical School (“HMS”) has been charged with committing Federal crimes by running a years-long scheme in which he marketed, stole, and sold body parts from human remains that had been donated for use in education or research.

The plaintiffs in these cases are close relatives of people who donated their bodies to HMS. They are understandably horrified that the physical remains of their loved ones may have been abused and desecrated after HMS completed its educational or research use of those remains. Most plaintiffs seek relief against Cedric Lodge, the former morgue manager. They all assert claims against the President & Fellows of Harvard College (“Harvard”), which is the legal name of Harvard University and includes HMS. And some plaintiffs also assert claims against two Harvard employees who ran the HMS Anatomical Gift Program (Mark Cicchetti and Tracey Fay).

The Court will allow the motions to dismiss all claims against Harvard, Cicchetti, and Fay, because the factual allegations in the complaints do not plausibly suggest that these Harvard Defendants failed to act in good faith in receiving and handling the donated bodies, or that they are legally responsible for Mr. Lodge’s alleged misconduct. The plaintiffs have therefore not met their burden of making factual allegations that, if true, could overcome the Harvard Defendants’ qualified immunity under the Massachusetts version of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. Though the appalling things that Lodge allegedly did are not protected by this immunity statute, the allegations in the complaints make clear that Harvard, Cicchetti, and Fay are not vicariously liable for Lodge’s actions-which means that the allegations about what Lodge did cannot defeat the Harvard Defendants’ qualified immunity.

The Court will order that separate and final judgments shall enter dismissing all claims against Harvard, Cicchetti, and Fay with prejudice. That will give plaintiffs the right to appeal this decision immediately, without waiting for resolution of their separate claims against Lodge.

I’ll tell you what.  I would rather work the midnight shift at the 7-Eleven than anywhere near body parts.  Nope.

darryll k. jones