Harvard asks judge to dismiss family lawsuits over alleged morgue thefts

Harvard Medical School is asking a judge to dismiss a slew of lawsuits filed by families who fear their loved ones’ donated bodies were desecrated by the school’s former morgue manager.

Lawyers for Harvard claimed in a recent court filing that the school is immune from liability under the state’s anatomical gift act, which protects any institution acting in “good faith.”

The school said its leaders condemned any wrongdoing and were previously unaware of the alleged crimes of Cedric Lodge, manager of Harvard's morgue for roughly three decades. Lodge was arrested in June, accused of stealing and selling the body parts of deceased donors over several years.

“Harvard recognizes the anger and uncertainty of those who fear that their loved ones' remains were among those Lodge allegedly stole,” lawyers wrote in Harvard’s motion to dismiss the case, filed in Suffolk Superior Court on Nov. 22. “But any liability that attaches to Lodge for his alleged criminal activity attaches to him alone.”

Harvard officials did not respond to a request for comment.

The anatomical gift act was designed to protect doctors and institutions working quickly to facilitate time-sensitive organ donations, according to health care law attorney Joel Rosen, who isn’t involved in the case. But it fails to take into account theft and criminal activity, he said.

“If the court elevates this immunity defense into a brick wall, it's going to discourage people from donating their bodies to science,” Rosen said. “Who's going to sign the donor card when they know that their head might end up in a jar on somebody's curio cabinet?”

Lawyers for the families argued in their lawsuits that Harvard and Lodge’s supervisors were “willfully blind” to what was happening in the morgue for at least five years — the time period in which prosecutors say Lodge stole and sold remains.

“Who's going to sign the donor card when they know that their head might end up in a jar on somebody's curio cabinet?”

Joel Rosen

“When Harvard asked families to put their trust in them for something this generous, these families expected more,” Kathryn Barnett, an attorney for the families, said.

Lodge, his wife, Denise, and several alleged buyers face federal conspiracy charges for their alleged roles in what prosecutors call a “nationwide network” of human remains trading. Lodge has pleaded not guilty.

Harvard has yet to produce a report it commissioned to examine the anatomical gift program’s security and operations. That report was due in October.