A suit was filed Tuesday against three companies and two
individuals who were allegedly involved in the purchase of body
parts from cadavers donated to UCLA’s Willed Body
Program.
A local law firm, Geragos & Geragos, filed the suit on
behalf of Carol Francis Martin, whose husband’s body had been
donated to the program, recently learned of the developments at
UCLA.
Earlier this month, Henry Reid, the director of UCLA’s
Willed Body Program, was arrested in connection to the sale of
donated body parts. Ernest Nelson was also arrested in connection
with the incident.
Ernest and Albennie Nelson are associated with the firm Empire
Anatomical Services and were named in the suit along with Johnson
& Johnson and subsidiary Mitek Inc.
The university has not been named in the most recent suit, but
that may soon change, said Matthew Geragos, lead council for the
prosecution.
Geragos & Geragos is a prominent Los Angeles law firm that
represents clients including Michael Jackson and Scott
Peterson.
Geragos said the university and Reid cannot be named in the suit
until a government code claim has been filed and accepted by the
court. Geragos said a claim will most likely be submitted by the
end of the work week.
Geragos won’t be the only high-profile lawyer working on
the trial. Lawyers from around the nation who have specialized in
class action lawsuits are petitioning to join his counsel.
John R. Climaco, a lawyer from Cleveland, said he plans to join
Geragos.
Climaco is one of the owners of www.ClassActionAmerica.com, a
Web site that alerts consumers of companies involved in class
action lawsuits.
Climaco said Martin contacted www.ClassActionAmerica.com through
e-mail last week soon after learning about the incidents at
UCLA.
“We contacted the Geragos firm. They in turn spoke with
Ms. Martin, and then all of us contributed to putting the case
together,” Climaco said.
Lewis Kahn, a lawyer from New Orleans, is also planning to join
the case.
“We’re going to have a long and arduous battle in
our hands,” Kahn said, adding that all of the lawyers
involved in the case, excluding Geragos, are part of a consortium
of lawyers from different law firms.
“We are all going to be co-counsel,” Kahn said.
Carolyn Glass Anderson, an attorney for the Minnesota-based firm
of Zimmerman Reed, said Charles Zimmerman, one of the partners,
also plans to join the suit.
Anderson said a case of this magnitude can be complex and
require much focus, and necessitates the efforts of multiple
attorneys.
“We often have a team of law firms involved,”
Anderson said. “This is a very unsettling thing that has
happened,” she said.
The group of lawyers specialize in class action lawsuits and for
the most part, they have all known each other for several
years.
Tuesday’s suit also seeks class action status, Geragos
said. He said it is likely that similar suits will be filed and
eventually motions will be made to certify the case as a class
action suit.
One suit was already filed against UCLA earlier this month by
different attorneys.
If the case is certified, attorneys will have the opportunity to
vie for a position as lead counsel.
“Other law firms will come in and file cases. There will
be a point where the court will appoint the group of attorneys that
will run the litigation,” Kahn said.
There is no surprise that Geragos and his potential co-counsel
hope they will be given the opportunity to command the post.
Louis Marlin, an attorney for UCLA, said it is too early to
speculate as to how the university would defend against a possible
class action lawsuit from Geragos.
Marlin added that new litigation is on the back burner, and that
the university is now doing everything it can to uncover what
happened.
With reports from Bruin wire services.