Sofia Vergara wins a battle with her ex over their frozen embryos
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Sofia Vergara has just won an appeal in an ongoing legal battle with her ex-fiancé Nick Loeb, over their frozen pre-embryos. The former couple, who were together for four years before their split in 2014, had undergone IVF treatment together, and the pre-embryos are what resulted from that.
Businessman Nick Loeb had sought full custody of the embryos, meaning in theory he would be able to have them implanted in someone, and children could be born as a result. However, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in Louisiana recently denied Nick's appeal, which followed a previous ruling that his custody lawsuit should be dismissed.
As Loeb and Vergara lived in California at the time of their embryo creation, with all fertility treatment taking place in that state, it was decided in the Louisiana courts that it would be improper for legal proceedings relating to the embryos to take place there.
The court judgment read: "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; Ms. Vergara, along with Mr. Loeb executed a contract with ART (a California company) in California, which is responsible for storing and preserving the embryos; and the embryos have always been located in California."
The court concluded that "it logically follows that no court in Louisiana can claim specific jurisdiction over Ms. Vergara."
The Modern Family actress has taken legal action to prevent her ex-partner from gaining custody over the frozen embryos in California without her written consent, however that case is believed to be still ongoing.
48-year-old Sofia Vergara has a 29-year-old son, Manolo, from a previous relationship, and is now married to actor Joe Manganiello.
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