Legal News

CSC ruling puts final nail in body donation suits

By Richard Binder

Evelyn Conroy fought for 10 years to hold the regents of UC Irvine responsible for mishandling her deceased husband's body, which he had donated to the university.  That fight ended yesterday, when the California Supreme Court unanimously decided to dismiss the suit.

Justice Marvin Baxter wrote in the decision that state law "does not impose a duty on UCI to conduct its teaching and research in such a way as to safeguard the sensibilities of the surviving family members." The decision upholds that of lower courts, which also dismissed the suit.

The court also held that the agreement for the body donation was between James Conroy and the university, and the right of a surviving spouse to control what happened to his body was superseded by the donation agreement he signed.

The decision will probably affect the outcome of several pending lawsuits against UCLA's body donation program.

Louis M. Marlin, who represented the university, said the decision made clear that a willed body program need only comply with the wishes and desires of the donor. "The Supreme Court has recognized that the donors control the disposition and donation of their bodies," Marlin said.

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Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on April 07, 2009 (boomark / email).