Massachusetts
Body parts trafficking case: Massachusetts judge dismisses claims against Harvard
A Suffolk Superior Court judge dismissed the combined family lawsuit against Harvard University related to a human body parts trafficking ring connected to its medical school morgue.
The suit combined 12 separate lawsuits filed on behalf of relatives of people who donated their bodies to the Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gifts program, in which the bodies would be used to train future doctors at the renowned school. The judge dismissed the claims against Harvard University as well as the managers of the Anatomical Gifts Program — March Cicchetti and Tracey Fay.
Most of the suits also targeted Cedric Lodge, the former morgue manager at the heart of the disturbing allegations, and some other defendants. Complaints can stand against Lodge and non-Harvard Medical School-related defendants.
Superior Court Justice Kenneth W. Singer, in his Monday ruling, wrote that he allowed Harvard University’s motions to dismiss the claims “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 chief plaintiff lawyer in the now-dismissed suit, which combined 12 lawsuits representing 47 plaintiffs, promised in a statement that she would appeal the decision.
“We are disappointed in the Court’s decision. These families have had to relive the trauma of losing their loved ones many times over, and we strongly believe that they deserve a day in court,” attorney Kathryn Barnett, of national law firm Morgan & Morgan, said. “We will appeal this ruling and keep fighting for them to win justice.”
A Harvard Medical School spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. The school has previously said that it does not comment on pending litigation and the criminal suit against Lodge and others is still pending in federal court.
Justice Singer, across the 18-page document, argues that even if every allegation brought in the complaints were factually true, Harvard itself has wide protections under the 1971 Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, which governs the system of anatomical gifts in Massachusetts and was last revised in 2012.
“The Harvard Defendants are entitled to dismissal of all claims against them because those claims are barred by the UAGA grant of qualified statutory immunity so long as the Harvard Defendants made a good faith attempt to comply with the requirements of the UAGA,” Singer writes, “… the facts alleged also make clear that the Harvard Defendants are not vicariously liable for the alleged misconduct of the former manager of the HMS morgue, and thus cannot lose their qualified immunity based on his bad acts.”
The allegations against Lodge and five others in the accused body parts trafficking ring were disclosed last June by the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, in a suit claiming the existence of a “nationwide network of individuals bought and sold human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.”
Prosecutors in the federal suit say that Lodge from 2018 through 2022 would even let potential buyers into the school to look at body’s and select parts to buy. It is in these type of actions that Singer says Lodge acted well outside the scope of his employment.
“The plaintiffs’ factual allegations do not plausibly suggest that Lodge’s actions in marketing, stealing, and selling human body parts were motivated, even in small part, by a purpose to serve the interests of HMS,” Singer wrote. “To the contrary, Lodge’s horrifying scheme was allegedly undertaken for purely personal gain and could not possibly have been of any benefit to HMS or furthered the interests of HMS in any way. Plaintiffs therefore may not rely upon Lodge’s alleged misconduct to defeat Harvard’s qualified immunity.”
Courtesy / Suffolk Superior Court filing
Harvard Medical School Anatomical Gift Program morgue employee Cedric Lodge. (Courtesy / Suffolk Superior Court filing) Courtesy / Morgan and Morgan law firm
Marshall Joletta, center, is seen with is family before his death in November 2017. He donated his body to Harvard Medical School. (Courtesy / Morgan and Morgan law firm) Courtesy / Morgan and Morgan law firm
Doreen Gordon, Brookline’s “cookie lady,” died in November 2018 and donated her body to Harvard Medical School. (Courtesy / Morgan and Morgan law firm)
Yankee Candle is a staple in the Bay State, famous for its colorful jars full of fragrance and warm light.
And while its candles can essentially be bought from anywhere, the mothership of the iconic candles lies in South Deerfield at Yankee Candle Village.
The flagship store, known for its ginormous collection of Yankee Candle scents and retail goods, is a winter holiday destination for those in New England.
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Leading up to Christmas, the store turns into a complete holiday stop.
Now on prominent display are the brand’s many different winter scents, including such classics as Red Apple Wreath and Balsam & Cedar, and such holiday scents as Christmas Cookie and North Pole Greetings.
Bavarian Christmas Village, arguably the most festive room in Yankee Candle Village, is Christmas all year. Guests will stroll through an enchanted forest featuring a 25-foot-tall Christmas tree, nutcrackers, winter village displays and even indoor snow that falls every 4 minutes.
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But scattered throughout the flagship store are hints of Christmas and a winter wonderland — from the home section filled with holiday kitchen decor to the Toy Shop filled with jolly trinkets.
Santa even pays a visit to the Yankee Candle Village, hosting a storytime with kids every Monday through Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
And if the shopping and holiday joy become overwhelming, the store even has cafes that offer a bite to eat. Guests can also indulge in sweet treats in its candy store or try freshly made fudge.
Yankee Candle Village is located at 25 Greenfield Road in South Deerfield. It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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It swims in the family.
A mother and calf wandered off the beaten path and got stranded in a Massachusetts marsh, forcing an emergency mammal rescue crew to save the wayward dolphin pair.
On Dec. 8, the Wareham Department of Natural Resources responded to a report of two stranded dolphins in the area of Beaverdam Creek off of the Weweantic River, a 17-mile tributary that drains into Buzzards Bay, which directly connects to the Atlantic Ocean.
When crews arrived, two common dolphins were located alive and active, but partially out of the water stranded in the marsh, according to the Wareham Department of Natural Resources.
Responding authorities alerted the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Marine Mammal Stranding Response Team, based in Cape Cod.
IFAW team members put the dolphins on stretchers and brought them to safety, where they conducted preliminary tests on the wayward dolphins.
“Our teams were easily able to extract the animals and transport them via our custom-built rescue vehicle,” Stacey Hedman, senior director of communications for IFAW, said.
The dolphins were weighed; the smaller of the two weighed approximately 90 lbs, and the larger mammal around 150 lbs.
Upon further analysis, it was revealed that the dolphins were an adult female and a socially-dependent juvenile female, a mother and calf pair.
According to Hedman, IFAW had some concerns over the mother’s decreased responsiveness and abnormal blood work, though it was deemed the pair was healthy enough to release back into the ocean at West Dennis Beach in Dennis, Mass.
“By releasing them into an area with many other dolphins around, this would hopefully increase their chances of socialization and survival. Both animals have satellite tags that are still successfully tracking,” Hedman said.
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man was seriously injured after he was thrown from a moving vehicle he had grabbed onto during a domestic dispute Thursday morning.
Duxbury police said they responded to a report of an injured male who might have been struck by a vehicle on Chandler Street around 5:22 a.m. and found a 19-year-old Pembroke man lying in the roadway with serious injuries.
Through interviews with witnesses, officers learned that the man had gone to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Chandler Street to confront her current boyfriend. An altercation ensued, during which police said the 19-year-old appears to have jumped on the hood of a vehicle and was then thrown from the moving vehicle.
The incident remains under investigation, police said. At this time, they said no charges have been filed.
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