Colavito v. New York Organ Donor Network, Inc.

Colavito (plaintiff), suffering end-stage kidney failure, was set to receive a kidney from a deceased friend; the New York Organ Donor Network (defendant) shipped one kidney to his hospital, but medical staff found it unsuitable and requested the second kidney, only to learn it had already been given to another recipient. It was later determined neither kidney would have matched Colavito and would have been rejected immediately. Colavito sued for fraud, conversion, and violations of New York Public Health Law; his fraud claim failed on appeal, and the Second Circuit certified the remaining state-law questions to the New York Court of Appeals.

Whether a person awaiting an organ transplant holds a property right in the organs of a deceased person.