Fertility clinic suits revived

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 heavy media coverage of 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 after 2000 by a lawyer who had obtained a list of patient names in litigation discovery. They said they had properly filed their claims in 2002 and 2003, within one year of being notified.

The university acknowledged it had not contacted all patients involved 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 ruling was issued late Wednesday.

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christian.berthelsen @latimes.com