A court in the United States has ruled that Harvard can be sued by families that had donated bodies of relatives to the university’s medical school, which were then sold on the black market by a former manager of its morgue.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Monday reversed a ruling from a lower court that had until now shielded the university from legal action.

The court also ruled that Mark F Cicchetti, the managing director of the Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gift Programme, is legally liable.

In his ruling, Chief Justice Scott L Kafker described the case as a “macabre scheme spanning several years” that saw the ex-manager, Cedric Lodge, dissect and steal body parts intended for research and teaching purposes.

Harvard is facing 12 lawsuits from 47 family members of the individuals whose remains were improperly handled by Lodge and his associates between 2018 and 2023.

The lawsuits allege that Harvard was negligent with its morgue security and disregarded guidance from the American Association of Anatomy.

Kafker appeared to agree with the families, writing in his ruling that Harvard “had a legal obligation to provide for the dignified treatment and disposal of the donated human remains, and failed miserably in this regard, as Harvard itself recognised”.

Harvard Medical School fired Lodge in 2023 and described his actions as “morally reprehensible”.

As part of the scheme, Lodge transported stolen organs, including heads, brains, skin, and bones, over state lines, opening the case up to federal prosecution.

According to Kafker ‘s ruling, one conspirator bought two dissected faces for $600 from Lodge. He also assisted the conspirator in “finding human skin to provide to a third party in exchange for his services tanning other human skin into leather”.

Another conspirator made 39 payments totalling $37,000 over PayPal to Lodge and his wife for body parts, “including a $1,000 transaction with the memo ‘head number 7’ and a $200 transaction with the memo ‘braiiiiiins'”, the ruling said.

Lodge pleaded guilty in May to one count of interstate transport of stolen human remains. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. (ALJAZEERA)