alcor

New York Lawsuit Against Larry Johnson Expands to Include Defamation; New York Court Grants Request to Fully Domesticate Arizona Judgment Against Larry Johnson

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The New York Supreme Court has granted a motion by Alcor to amend its lawsuit against Defendants, Larry Johnson, co-author, Scott Baldyga, and publisher Vanguard Press. The lawsuit now includes dozens of defamation claims, including numerous claims related to false allegations of mistreatment of Ted Williams and other claims for defamation per se. There is an even larger volume of false and misleading statements in the book “Frozen” than encompassed by these claims, but Alcor believes that these claims are sufficient for proving in court that the book by Johnson and Baldyga was written and published maliciously with false information intended to harm Alcor. The lawsuit additionally includes causes of action for Breach of Agreements and Judgment, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conversion (theft of company property), and Aiding and Abetting Breach of Court-Entered Judgments against Johnson.

The New York Supreme Court also approved a motion to domesticate in New York the Arizona judgment against Larry Johnson that has been in place since July 7, 2009. This domesticated judgment requires Johnson to return all materials he took from Alcor, including materials distributed to third parties, and prohibits him from making any statements about Alcor. Since this Judgment is now enforceable in New York, it will support the next request for the New York publisher to cease and desist from continued publication of the subject book and to return any Alcor materials Johnson provided to his publisher.

It should provide some reassurance to Alcor members and their families to know that courts are supporting return of records to Alcor, and that any disclosures of Alcor records by Johnson were completely inappropriate. Neither Johnson, Baldyga or Vanguard even attempted to argue “free speech” in opposition of the Motion to Domesticate the Arizona judgment.

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Alcor and Robbins Family Reach Amicable Settlement

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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – March 3, 2010
Mary Robbins was a member of Alcor Life Extension Foundation since 2006. Ms. Robbins left her remains to Alcor in a written directive pursuant to the Colorado Disposition of Last Remains Act. A dispute arose between the Robbins family and Alcor over whether or not Ms. Robbins cancelled her written wishes concerning her remains two days before her legal death in Colorado Springs on February 9, 2010.

On March 1, 2010, a Colorado Probate Court ruled that Ms. Robbins did not revoke her written wishes concerning her remains by signing a “change of beneficiary” document in connection with an insurance annuity. The court further ordered that Alcor shall have custody of the remains of Ms. Robbins.

Today, Alcor and the Robbins family reached an amicable settlement in which Alcor will be allowed to transport immediately the frozen remains of Ms. Robbins to Arizona to complete the process of cryopreservation. In exchange, Alcor agreed to release all potential claims to an insurance annuity in which Alcor had been the previously named beneficiary.

Jennifer Chapman, Executive Director of Alcor stated: “We are glad we were able to fulfill the wishes of our long-standing member.”

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Colorado Springs Court Upholds Desire of Alcor Member to be Cryopreserved

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SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – March 1, 2010
Mary Robbins was a member of Alcor Life Extension Foundation since 2006. She signed numerous documents expressing her desire to have her remains cryopreserved by Alcor after legal death. Ms. Robbins never executed a document which revoked her wishes concerning the donation of her remains to Alcor for cryopreservation. The Colorado Springs Probate Court decided today that a “change in beneficiary form” related to an insurance annuity was not sufficient to revoke the long-standing desire of Ms. Robbins for cryopreservation. The court upheld the desire of Ms. Robbins to be cryopreserved.

The change in beneficiary form was placed in front of Ms. Robbins two days before her death. Her mental and physical well-being are questionable at the time she executed the document. For this and other reasons, Alcor challenged the claim by her family that she had revoked her cryonics arrangements based on this document.

Colorado counsel for Alcor, Eric Bentley, said, “We are very pleased that the written desires of Ms. Robbins will be fulfilled. This case has always been about the written intentions of Ms. Robbins.”

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Upcoming Board Meeting

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The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 6, 2010, at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale, AZ) at 11:00 AM (MT). Members and the public are encouraged to attend.

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Status of CEO Search

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Out of the seven candidates set aside for interviews, two were no longer available and one changed her mind. The four remaining candidates were interviewed. Recently there has been an increase in new applications and resumes submitted to the committee. From these new applicants there are five additional candidates the committee would like to interview.

alcor

Team Training

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Team Training
The Arizona Regional Response Team held an afternoon of training on January 23rd at Alcor Central. With 19 volunteers attending, not including Alcor staff, this session was the largest turnout that Alcor has had in a long time. It is encouraging to see the return of strong local enthusiasm not only for our local members, but also for members that relocate to Scottsdale/Phoenix when they are facing terminal health issues. This training event was followed by a CryoFeast that was hosted by Bonnie Magee, Alcor’s Finance Director. Thanks to Jack St. Claire for offering his home as the cryonics clubhouse in Scottsdale.

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New Statistics (As of January 31, 2010)

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Membership
Alcor had 915 members on its Emergency Responsibility List. Six (6) memberships were approved during this month, no memberships were reinstated, three (3) memberships were cancelled and one (1) member was cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of two (2) members this month.

Applicants
Alcor had 62 applicants for membership. Eight (8) new applicants were added and six (6) applicants were converted to members. Seven (7) applicants were cancelled for the following reasons: one (1) applicant changed his mind; and six (6) did not wish to pay the extended application fee to remain in the queue. There was a net loss of five (5) applicants for this month.

Information Packets
Alcor received 156 information packet requests. Eight (8) were handed out during facility tours or from special request. The average total of 156 info packs sent per month in 2010 is compared to 188 in 2009.

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February 22, 2010 Press Release

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Alcor Life Extension Foundation Attempts To Fulfill Wishes of Colorado Springs Woman SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA
On February 9, 2010, Mary Robbins was pronounced legally dead. Ms. Robbins was a long-term member of Alcor Life Extension Foundation. Alcor is a science-based state-of-the-art research facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. Alcor preserves bodies at ultra-cold temperatures to achieve biostasis at a temperature at which all cell deterioration stops.

Prior to death, Ms. Robbins made a valid, written donation of her body to Alcor pursuant to the Colorado Disposition of Last Remains Act and Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. Ms. Robbins wanted to be cryopreserved, and she made her long-standing intentions known for years. Additionally, she made financial arrangements to pay for cryopreservation using a $50,000 annuity with Alcor as the beneficiary.

Ms. Robbins’s family is now claiming that her long-standing request to be cryopreserved was changed shortly before she died. However, Alcor has yet to receive any written documentation changing Ms. Robbins’s wish to be cryopreserved.

Eric Bentley, the Colorado attorney for Alcor stated, “Alcor simply wants to fulfill the documented wishes of Ms. Robbins to be cryopreserved. Ms. Robbins was competent when she made arrangements to be cryopreserved, she expressed that intention in writing, and Alcor wants to carry out her wishes.”

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The Cryonics Technology Progress Conference

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Where: Terasem Central in Melbourne, Central East coast of Florida
When: April 9, 10, 11, 2010– Schedule to be available late February.

Cryonics technology is more advanced than even most signed up cryonicists realize. Most people in the scientific community do not realize what progress has been made and most cryonicists do not realize the protocols and technologies that have been developed in the service of making cryonics a true “evidence based technology.”

Details of cryonics protocols, procedures, and logistics from start to finish –Confirmed presenters include Alcor Life Extension Foundation Transport Coordinator – Aaron Drake; Cryonics Institute President – Ben Best; and Suspended Animation, Inc. General Manager – Catherine Baldwin.

Suspended Animation, Inc. protocols and technologies are now available for members of both CI and Alcor.

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Technical Coordinator

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The Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit scientific and research organization, currently has an immediate opening for a Technical Coordinator at our Scottsdale, Arizona, facility. The Technical Coordinator is responsible for maintaining and operating equipment necessary to perform cryopreservation of humans in the field of cryonics. Cryonics is the experimental practice of using ultra-cold temperatures to preserve human life in a state that may be recoverable by future medicine. For four decades Alcor has developed and implemented innovative techniques in the field of cryonics. These techniques involve a combination of experimental interventions and conventional medical skills.

At Alcor, we believe that intelligence, memories, and personality are determined primarily by the structure and chemistry of the human brain. Our aim is to preserve the brain and the unique identity within it so that advanced future medical technology might be able to restore the individual to good health. For more information about cryonics and Alcor please see our website at http://www.alcor.org.

JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Technical Coordinator will be responsible for the development, operation, and maintenance of equipment and infrastructure required to perform human cryopreservation and related research at Alcor’s cryopreservation facility in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Specialized and custom-built equipment used by Alcor includes:
* Cardiopulmonary and cryoprotectant perfusion systems.
* Temperature-controlled vapor circulation systems.
* Automated data acquisition and process control systems.
* Cryogenic dewars and liquid nitrogen handling systems.
* Chemical handling and mixing equipment.

The Technical Coordinator will work with Alcor’s Research Fellow, Equipment Fabricator, and external Research and Development Committee to maintain and improve existing procedures and equipment, and to design, construct, test, and validate new equipment and procedures. The Technical Coordinator will report to Alcor’s Executive Director.

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