Judge Wants Embryos, Records Preserved : Ruling: He orders attorneys for UC Irvine and fertility center patients to agree on plan to safeguard frozen fertilized eggs and documents about them.

Lawyers for UC Irvine and two couples preparing to sue the university and its fertility clinic over alleged mishandling of eggs must work out an agreement to safeguard the couples’ frozen fertilized eggs and documents about them, a judge has ruled.

The decision Wednesday by Orange County Superior Court Judge Leonard Goldstein came at the request of two Orange County couples, Debra and Kent Beasley and Stacy Swanson-Schofro and Steve Schofro, who filed a petition with the court earlier this week.

The fertilized eggs and documentation are needed because the couples plan to sue UCI, the UCI Medical Center and fertility doctors Ricardo H. Asch and Jose P. Balmaceda. The Schofros also plan to sue Dr. Sergio Stone. All of the doctors once operated the now-defunct fertility clinic, said the couples’ attorney, Walter G. Koontz Jr.

Both couples contend doctors at the center stole some of their eggs and implanted them in other women without permission. They claim that the alleged theft and implants may have led to the birth of children unknown to them.

Asch, Balmaceda and Stone have consistently denied wrongdoing. Susan Morgenstern, an attorney representing UCI, declined comment.

Koontz said both couples want to make sure the fertilized eggs are not destroyed or moved from California Cryobank in Westwood, a licensed tissue bank, where they say Asch has stored the fertilized eggs. Koontz said at least 13 of Swanson-Schofro’s fertilized eggs may be stored there and as many as 11 of Beasley’s.

The agreement, which needs to be worked out by Aug. 18, will also determine what sworn statements can be taken from the doctors or other UCI employees or former employees. Koontz said he wants to find out from them who has medical records that could show how many eggs were harvested from the women and what happened to them.

“We have had little or no cooperation with all of the different doctors and hospital,” Koontz said. “Each claims the other has the documents so I want the ability to get a court order to find out what is going on.”

Koontz said that the agreement will form the basis of an order by Goldstein next month. If an agreement cannot be reached Goldstein will decide the matters himself.

So far, seven couples, including the Beasleys and Schofros, have filed claims notifying the university and its fertility specialists that lawsuits will be filed within six months. One lawsuit already has been filed by a former patient, and the doctors are the target of seven separate investigations.