Kidney divorce: a donated kidney is not property

Sunday March 1, 2009

I posted sometime ago about the bizarre case of Dr Richard Batista and Dawnell Batista from New York, in which Dr Batista sought that the kidney that he had donated to his dying wife some years ago be considered to be property, and that he wanted US$1.5 million for it, and if he could not… Read More »Custom Single Post Header

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award

Member of Queensland law society

Family law Practitioners Association

International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL

Mediator Standards Board

Kidney divorce: a donated kidney is not property

Sunday, March 01, 2009

I posted sometime ago about the bizarre case of Dr Richard Batista and Dawnell Batista from New York, in which Dr Batista sought that the kidney that he had donated to his dying wife some years ago be considered to be property, and that he wanted US$1.5 million for it, and if he could not get the US$1.5 million, he wanted the theoretical return of the kidney. He had an expert value the donation of the kidney, and also note that his donation was a 1 in 700,000 chance, which saved Dawnell’s life.

Dr Batista’s claim, seen by legal experts as not having a prayer of success, and being without merit and vindictive, was rejected by the court.

“At its core, the defendant’s claim inappropriately equates human organs with commodities,” Suffolk County Court-Attorney Referee Jeffrey Grob declared in a 10-page ruling[PDF file] .

Grob cited state law making it a felony for people to give or take money for a human organ.

“While the term ‘marital property’ is elastic and expansive … its reach, in this court’s view, does not stretch into the ethers and embrace … human tissues or organs.”

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

Forced Marriage

On November 1st 2023, Accredited Family Law Specialist and Page Provan Director Stephen Page presented a paper at the Brisbane Zonta Club about forced marriage. I acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, on whose lands we meet today, their elders, past, present and emerging. Ruqia Hidari was aged 21 and living in Victoria, when, according to police,… Read More »Forced Marriage

ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

The ACT Government has today introduced a bill to amend the ACT’s surrogacy laws. The proposed changes are more incremental than fundamental. They include allowing a single person to undertake surrogacy, for the surrogate to be single if needed, a requirement for legal advice and counselling beforehand, a written agreement being required, that traditional surrogacy is… Read More »ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

Planning to resolve: ADR in ART

ADR can help resolve disputes in ART cases. ADR is not limited to mediation and arbitration. Other types of informal dispute resolution can resolve disputes. When assisted reproductive treatment cases go off the rails, they can have the next level of bitterness and volatility. There can be a keen sense of betrayal when things don’t… Read More »Planning to resolve: ADR in ART