DOJ opinion takes aim at Title VII cases

Summary: Harvard agrees to $53 million settlement Massachusetts superior court preliminarily approves class action Cedric Lodge sentenced to eight years federal prison   Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to resolve lawsuits by families alleging it mishandled the bodies of loved ones donated to its medical school and whose parts were then sold on the black market by the former manager of its morgue. A Suffolk Superior Court judge on Aug. 18 preliminarily approved a class action settlement that would resolve lawsuits filed against the institution following the arrest in 2023 of Cedric Lodge, the former manager of Harvard Medical School’s morgue. Lodge, who had worked in Harvard’s morgue for almost three decades, was sentenced by a federal judge in December to eight years in prison for stealing and selling organs and other parts of cadavers that were donated to the school for medical research and education. Prosecutors said that since 2018 he had been stealing parts from cadavers, including heads, faces, brains, skin and hands, and transporting them from Harvard’s morgue in Boston to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife sold them. Dozens of relatives of individuals whose bodies were donated to Harvard filed lawsuits accusing the school of negligence, contending it turned a blind eye to Lodge’s years-long misconduct until he was indicted in 2023. A judge initially dismissed the cases, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in October revived them, saying the plaintiffs had sufficient claims that Harvard failed to act in good faith in handling the bodies, whose “horrific and undignified treatment continued for years.” George Daley, Harvard’s dean of the faculty of medicine, and Bernard Chang, dean for medical education at Harvard Medical School, said in a message to the school’s community dated Aug. 17 that Lodge’s conduct was “despicable, abhorrent, and a flagrant betrayal of our values as a medical community.” They said the settlement, in addition to monetary provisions, included Harvard Medical School’s pledge to provide a statement to the families via live webinar “confirming that Lodge’s criminal acts were morally reprehensible.” Beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year, Harvard Medical School will also establish an annual scholarship for medical students in honor of all of its anatomical donors, the school said. “We hope that this resolution ensures that this never happens to another family ever again,” John Morgan, whose law firm Morgan & Morgan represented families in the litigation, said in a statement. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Edmund Klamann)

Summary: Disney and ABC file lawsuit against FCC in Washington FCC orders early review of eight ABC station licenses Lawsuit alleges violation of First Amendment free speech rights Disney and its ABC unit sued the Federal Communications Commission on Aug. 18 to block an early review of licenses for eight ABC stations, arguing the Trump administration is trying to punish the network over its broadcast content. President Trump has ​repeatedly urged broadcasters ⁠to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have been critical, pressing the FCC on numerous occasions to revoke ABC's licenses. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Disney said the FCC was seeking to coerce and retaliate against "a network that refuses to bow to the administration's demands". Disney and ABC asked the court to quickly issue a temporary restraining order halting the license renewal proceedings and preventing the FCC from scheduling a hearing. The company said the public comment period ended earlier this month and the FCC could act at any time. The lawsuit alleges the administration is violating the company's First Amendment free speech rights. "Again and again, the administration has attacked ABC's speech — the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air," the lawsuit said. The White House did not immediately comment. FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who did ​not immediately comment on Aug. 18, ordered the reviews in April even though the stations' license renewals were not scheduled to be ​considered before October 2028. The FCC had not ordered an early review in more than 50 years before April. The reviews were ordered a day after Trump urged ABC to fire late-night ​host Jimmy Kimmel. Broadcast stations need FCC licenses to use public airwaves. While license revocations are ​extremely rare, critics say the ​threat of losing a license ⁠can pressure broadcasters and raise concerns about government interference in editorial and programming decisions. Networks have broad First Amendment protections over programming choices. Trump called in November for the FCC to revoke ABC's licenses after he criticized an ABC News correspondent for asking ⁠Saudi Arabia's ​crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist, in ​a question he described as "insubordinate." The FCC is also investigating ABC daytime talk show "The View," which discusses U.S. politics, after saying it may be subject to federal ​rules requiring broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to political candidates. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)

Summary: Darren Zhou reported to FBI by OpenAI for threats Zhou pleaded guilty to aggravated stalking and threats Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer sentenced Zhou to probation   A South Palm Beach man turned to ChatGPT to plot the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, reported a 25-year-old Florida man to the FBI after he shared detailed plans to rape and murder his ex-girlfriend. "I'm gonna kill her by the end of this month," Darren Zhou told the chatbot, his messages preserved in court records. "If I can't have her then nobody can." Investigators say Zhou, a since-fired Goldman Sachs analyst living near Donald Trump's Palm Beach estate, turned to ChatGPT in March to discuss his recent breakup with a girlfriend of six months. He recounted her hobbies, the places she frequented, his jealousy of the men around her, and his desire to get back together. OpenAI's policies say a small team of people may review ChatGPT interactions when the company detects that a user plans to harm others. In serious cases, the company may send a tip to law enforcement. ChatGPT conversations have become evidence in numerous court cases, but fewer examples exist of a user's activity being reported to police by the company. Investigators say Zhou's messages quickly turned to threats of rape, murder and murder-suicide. Federal agents turned over two months of Zhou's chat logs to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in May, by which point Zhou's targets had grown to include the young woman's family. A deputy who reviewed the logs — which included only Zhou's messages, not ChatGPT's responses — said they weren't "vague emotional outbursts" but instead showed a pattern of rehearsal and planning. Deputies performed a welfare check on the girlfriend, a 21-year-old from Lake Worth Beach. She said she had broken up with Zhou over his "erratic, jealous and controlling behavior," and did so over the phone because she feared how he would react. Since the breakup, the woman said Zhou dogged her with calls, texts and social media messages, pressing her about comments that a man left on her TikTok videos. He accused her of moving on quickly and ignored her repeated requests that he not contact her again. Investigators say Zhou continued to call and text his ex from various app-generated phone numbers. She took screenshots of the messages, many of which were harassing, insulting, sexual and threatening. Armed with Zhou's messages to the AI and to his ex, deputies arrested him in May. He spent two days in the Palm Beach County jail before posting $100,000 bail. Assistant State Attorney Ana Cuskova charged him in June with aggravated stalking, written threats to kill, and illegal use of a cellphone, felonies punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Zhou pleaded guilty to all three on Aug. 13 after negotiating a deal with Cuskova that spared him both from prison and a felony conviction. Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer, speaking from the bench, said he only accepted the deal because Zhou's ex-girlfriend had approved it. In accordance with the agreement, the judge withheld adjudication and sentenced Zhou to eight years of probation, during which he must abide by a slew of restrictions. He pointed to the fact that Zhou graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern University in Boston and had no prior criminal record. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: “Florida man told ChatGPT he'd murder his ex. OpenAI alerted the FBI” Reporting by Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post