Motion,Ex Parte: Wendell Tang, M.D., as Representative of the Estate of Luke Tang vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College et al

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                                Date Filed 3/28/2024 1:22 PM
Superior Court - Middlesex
Docket Number 1881CV02603
                                                              79.1

                                          COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

                 MIDDLESEX, ss.                                                       SUPERIOR COURT DEPT.
                                                                                      C.A. No.: 18-2603
                 ______________________________
                 WENDALL TANG, M.D., as          )
                 Representative of the Estate of )
                 LUKE TANG,                      )
                                                 )                                                             3/28/2024
                               Plaintiff,        )
                                                 )
                        v.                       )
                                                 )
                 MELANIE NORTHROP, MSW,          )
                 LICSW,                          )
                               Defendant.        )
                 ______________________________)

                      PLAINTIFF’S OPPOSITION TO THE DEFENDANT’S MOTION IN LIMINE
                  TO PRECLUDE EVIDENCE REGARDING SUICIDES AT HARVARD WITH WHICH
                         THE DEFENDANT MELANIE NORTHROP WAS NOT INVOLVED

                          Now comes the Plaintiff, Wendell Tang and submits the following opposition to the

                 Defendant’s motion in limine to preclude evidence regarding suicides at Harvard with which the

                 Defendant, Melanie Northrop, MSW, LICSW was not involved.

                          Under Massachusetts law, Ms. Northrop’s conduct in this trial will be judged by whether

                 she deviated from the standard of care of the average qualified social worker/case manager.

                 “Negligence of a physician who practices a specialty consists of a failure to exercise the degree of

                 care and skill of the average qualified physician practicing that specialty, taking into account the

                 advances in the profession and the resources available to the physician.” Stepakoff v. Kantar, 393

                 Mass. 836, 840 (1985). Accordingly, Ms. Northrop’s subjective understanding of Harvard’s

                 extensive student suicide history is largely irrelevant when evaluating what the average qualified

                 case worker would have known or done under the circumstances such as existed at Harvard as of

                 2014-2015.

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Date Filed 3/28/2024 1:22 PM
Superior Court - Middlesex
Docket Number 1881CV02603




                          Secondly, to the extent Ms. Northrop contends that only her actual knowledge of attempted

                 suicides acquired from students with whom she dealt, her desire to have limited accountability

                 misses the mark. Ms. Northrop’s acts or omissions, as a matter of general negligence principles,

                 can result in liability based upon information she knew or should have known. Ms. Northrop was

                 the sole social worker/case manager working for Harvard University Health Services at times

                 relevant to this case. She also acted liaison to students who were referred for in-patient care to

                 McLean Hospital, such as Luke Tang. It is not prejudicial to suggest that Ms. Northrop should

                 have known of the data readily available to her regarding, inter alia, student suicide attempts, the

                 frequency of student in-patient mental health hospitalizations and students on care contracts for

                 mental health issues (including attempted suicide) to better inform the discharge of her job

                 responsibilities. 1

                          WHEREFORE, Ms. Northrop should be held to the standard of care of the average

                 qualified social worker/case manager. To the extent she lacked information about the depth of

                 mental health issues within the Harvard student body, her lack of knowledge demonstrates a

                 deviation from the standard of care and is relevant to the Harvard mental health environment. Ms.

                 Northrop was the front person for HUHS dealing with care contracts and acted as liaison with

                 McLean Hospital regardless of her individual work with a student.




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                  The Plaintiff intends to supplement this motion with documentary evidence depending upon how the Court may
                 rule on other issues relating to the conduct of the trial. There presently exists a protective order in place on the case
                 which precludes the Plaintiff, and Ms. Northrop from appending discovery materials to, or information included in
                 any discovery materials within, any court filing as Harvard marked every single document it produced in discovery
                 as “Confidential.”

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Date Filed 3/28/2024 1:22 PM
Superior Court - Middlesex
Docket Number 1881CV02603




                 Respectfully Submitted,

                 WENDELL TANG, M.D.,
                 Plaintiff,
                 By his attorneys,


                 /s/ David W. Heinlein
                 ________________________________
                 David W. Heinlein, Esquire, BBO# 550598
                 Jeffrey S. Beeler, Esquire, BBO# 563679
                 Heinlein Beeler Mingace & Heineman, P.C.
                 276 Union Avenue
                 Framingham, MA 01702
                 (508) 626-8500
                 DHeinlein@HBMHlaw.com
                 JBeeler@HBMHlaw.com

                                                 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

                        I, David W. Heinlein, hereby certify that on the 27th day of March, 2024, I caused a true
                 and accurate copy of the foregoing document to be served by email only upon all counsel of record:

                          William J. Dailey III, Esq.
                          Victoria C. Goetz Berlyand, Esq.
                          SLOANE AND WALSH LLP
                          One Boston Place, 16th Floor
                          Boston, MA 02108
                          Wdailey3@sloanewalsh.com
                          Vgoetz@sloanewalsh.com
                                                                     /s/ David W. Heinlein
                                                                     ______________________________
                                                                     David W. Heinlein




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