Judge orders takeover of Center for Reproductive Health after AG sues Nashville fertility clinic
A Nashville judge has ordered the temporary takeover of a local fertility clinic after its business collapsed earlier this year.
The decision came down Friday, the same day that the Tennessee Attorney General's Office sued the Center for Reproductive Health and its medical director, Dr. Jaime Vasquez , who is also apparently the center's sole employee, for violating state consumer protection law. Chancellor Russell T. Perkins appointed someone to temporarily handle the business's operations, a job that is called a receiver.
“After investigating numerous complaints about Dr. Vasquez’s failed practice, we moved quickly to limit the risk and ongoing harm to these patients,” Chief Deputy Attorney General Lacey Mase said in a news release. “We’re confident that the emergency relief provided by the court today will ensure that patients now have access to their files and the ability to transfer to another provider for care and treatment with the help of the receiver.”
The AG's office said in its complaint that the Center for Reproductive Health has been without employees since early April 2024 because Vasquez ran out of money to pay them. The center halted all its operations around the same time.
Since then, patients have not received care they paid for and have struggled to communicate with Vasquez or have their records transferred to another location, leaving them "to scramble on their own to try and set up continuing care," the AG's complaint says. It estimates patients have paid tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for services they have not received.
Inspections of the clinic in April by different agencies including the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission found several issues including storage tanks holding sperm and embryos left open, unlocked doors while no staff was present at the clinic and a storage tank that bore a sign marked "mice embryos," according to the complaint.
Perkins entered a temporary restraining order Friday against Vasquez, the Center for Reproductive Health and Vasquez' other businesses which occupy the same building: the Center for Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Fertility Laboratories of Nashville and the American Embryo Adoption Agency.
The order freezes all of Vasquez and the businesses' assets and appoints a receiver to handle business operations while the case is ongoing. The court appointed Jeremiah Foster of Resolute Commercial, who specializes in crisis management for businesses and was recommended by the AG's office, as the receiver.
The AG's office said it will fully litigate the case and encouraged patients with complaints or concerns about quality of care and related issues at the clinic to contact the Department of Health or the Health Facilities Commission.
Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Center for Reproductive Health sued by TN AG; judge orders takeover
