8 patient lawsuits from UC Irvine fertility clinic scandal reinstated

A state appeals court has reinstated eight lawsuits against the University of California stemming from the UC Irvine fertility clinic scandal by patients alleging they were either not told their eggs had been stolen or were actively misled by university officials.

The ruling reverses a 2006 decision by a trial court judge who said the cases were filed too late and barred by the statute of limitations because the patients should have known there was a problem from all the media reports about the scandal.

Though the case first made headlines in 1995, the plaintiffs said they did not know their eggs had been stolen until they were contacted by a lawyer after 2000 who had obtained a list of patient names in litigation discovery. They said they properly filed their claims within one year of being notified.

The university acknowledged that it had not contacted all patients involved in the case despite a pledge to do so, but argued that the suits should be barred because the patients should have known from the news coverage of the case.

“The allegations of stealing and then selling a person’s genetic material for financial gain is an intentional act of egregious abuse against a particularly vulnerable and trusting victim,” said the opinion by a three-judge panel of the Fourth Appellate District of the state appeals court.

It added: “We conclude constructive suspicion based on publicity alone would be insufficient to trigger the statute of limitations.”

The ruling was issued late Wednesday.

The court also upheld some of the claims against Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, where the fertility clinic was located, though it dismissed others, finding they had been added to the lawsuits later in the litigation process after the time limit had passed.

christian.berthelsen@latimes.com