BALTIMORE, Md. –– Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law and Christopher Seeger of Seeger Weiss responded to a major ruling yesterday denying Ultragenyx’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them on behalf of Henrietta Lacks’ family. Crump invited the pharmaceutical company to resolve the case, correcting this historic wrong.
The suit alleges that Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical made a conscious choice to sell and mass produce the living tissue of Henrietta Lacks, despite the corporation’s knowledge that Lacks’ tissue had been taken from her without her consent by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The retrieval of her tissue is considered part of an alleged conspiracy to harvest tissue for research from Black women without their knowledge or consent in racially segregated wards throughout the 1950s.
As part of her decision, United States District Judge Deborah L. Boardman wrote:
“Today, the Court reaches one modest conclusion about this dispute: If what Lacks alleges is true, it is plausible that Ultragenyx is liable to Lacks for unjust enrichment. For the reasons explained in this opinion, Ultragenyx’s motion to dismiss is denied.”
Attorneys Crump and Seeger released the following statement:
“The family of Henrietta Lacks is grateful for the judge’s important decision to deny Ultragenyx’s baseless motion to dismiss the case and allow the lawsuit to move forward. This historic ruling is not only a victory for Henrietta Lacks’ family; it presents an opportunity to correct a monumental wrong. We invite Big Pharma to the table to resolve this on behalf of Henrietta Lacks’ family.”
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit www.bencrump.com.
ABOUT SEEGER WEISS
With offices in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, Seeger Weiss is one of the nation’s preeminent trial law firms, with an established track record of helping lead some of the most complex and important cases and securing landmark verdicts and settlements including the $14.7 billion settlement in the Volkswagen emissions case, the billion-plus NFL concussion settlement, the $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement, and the $1.5 billion settlement with Syngenta. For more information, visit seegerweiss.com.
