I actually took Gould's last go of his famous introductory evolution class at Harvard. The other final class was cancelled.
A few weeks before he died I saw him alone walking along and was able to thank him personally. He was a great teacher.
Personally I think the world is much better off without the pompous ass. Ive seen a few lectures of his and his unwaivering resentment of Christianity was just revolting.
I heard him speak in college in the early '80s. He had a zest for life and science.
I feel sorry for him and his family but this lawsuit is misguided. Lung cancer often metastasizes at a size of 3mm. That's why lung cancer screening is relatively ineffective. The five year survival rate of lung cancer is damn poor. Furthermore, he likely had a genetic prediliction or environmental exposure risk. He was very fortunate to survive peritoneal mesothelioma. It is almost always not resectable and fatal.