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Celebrity

05th Feb 2021

Sofía Vergara’s ex loses custody appeal over couple’s frozen embryos

Jade Hayden

The pair split in 2014.

Sofía Vergara’s ex Nick Loeb has lost his custody appeal over the couple’s frozen embryos.

Businessman Loeb had been seeking full custody of the two frozen pre-embryos which had been created during previous IVF treatments.

The case, which had initially been dismissed, was later appealed by Loeb. This week the appeal was denied by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, who stated that the case against Vergara was “weak.”

The court also said that Loeb had been “forum shopping” in a bid to find a State that would be sympathetic to his case against his ex. Loeb and Vergara had undergone IVF treatment in California.

The ruling said: “It is clear that the connection between the claims against Ms. Vergara and the State of Louisiana is weak.

“As discussed infra, Appellants are not domiciled in or residents of the State of Louisiana and the basis of their cause of action is the IVF procedure, which resulted in the creation of two embryos […] It is undisputed that the IVF procedure was conducted in California.”

“Further, in his deposition, Mr. Loeb affirmatively agreed to the following: his sperm was donated in California; Ms. Vergara’s ova was donated in California; the embryos were created in California […]

“It is clear that Mr. Loeb blatantly engaged in forum shopping when he selected, in concert with a member of the bar, Attorney McQueen, Plaquemines Parish to file the instant lawsuit,” they went on. “Their behaviour brings disrepute to and makes a mockery of the Louisiana legal system and the bar and is abhorrent.”

Vergara, who is best known for her iconic role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family, got engaged to Loeb in 2012. The couple decided to undergo IVF to freeze their embryos before splitting in 2014.

The couple have been involved in multiple lawsuits regarding the two embryos since this time. In a 2015 op-ed for the New York Times, Loeb argued that “keeping them frozen forever is tantamount to killing them.”

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