Moore v. Regents of the University of California

271 Cal.Rptr. 146 (1990)

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Moore v. Regents of the University of California

California Supreme Court
271 Cal.Rptr. 146 (1990)

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Facts

John Moore (plaintiff) underwent treatment for leukemia at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center. There, Dr. David Golde (defendant) recommended removal of Moore’s spleen. Golde then used Moore’s cells for research without Moore’s permission. Golde established a patented cell line, which he licensed for commercial development. The patent was held by the Regents of the University of California (defendant), and it listed as inventors Golde and UCLA researcher Shirley Quan (defendant). The defendants made a significant amount of money from the cell line. Moore filed a 13-count lawsuit. Specifically, Moore sued for lack of informed consent and breach of fiduciary duty, due to the defendants’ omission of their financial interests in Moore’s cells. Moore also sued for conversion. The defendants moved for summary judgment, which was granted on the conversion count. The trial court dismissed the rest of the complaint. Moore appealed, and the California Court of Appeal reversed, ordering the trial court to reinstate the conversion claim, allow Moore to amend his inadequate informed-consent claim, and rule on the remaining claims. The defendants appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Panelli, J.)

Concurrence (Arabian, J.)

Concurrence/Dissent (Broussard, J.)

Dissent (Mosk, J.)

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