The decision by Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson could bring to a close the lawsuit between Lacks' surviving family and Thermo Fisher Scientific, the Massachusetts company accused of unjustly profiting from her cells, according to the Gazette. The lawsuit against biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific claims Lacks' cells were taken while she was receiving treatment at Johns Hopkins in 1951. Lacks, who was from Baltimore County, died soon after due to complications from treatment, the Baltimore Sun previously reported.