Asch Agrees to Give Deposition in Tijuana on UCI Fertility Suits

Fearing arrest if he returns to the United States, Dr. Ricardo H. Asch agreed Wednesday for the first time to talk about the UC Irvine fertility scandal under oath--but only in Tijuana, not Newport Beach as ordered by a judge last month.

Asch, who now lives in Mexico, will give his deposition in Mexico on Jan. 19, according to a tentative agreement reached between his attorneys and nearly half a dozen other lawyers involved in lawsuits stemming from the scandal. Asch’s attorney, Lloyd A. Charton, said Asch fears being jailed.

“It’s been printed in a number of newspapers that Dr. Asch might be subject to loss of his liberty” if he returns to the United States, Charton said.

Although no charges have been filed against Asch or his two partners, at least seven separate investigations are underway, including one by the U.S. attorney’s office into allegations that they took human eggs and embryos without the donors’ knowledge, pocketed money owed to the university and conducted research on human subjects without permission.

Asch and his colleagues at UCI’s Center for Reproductive Health, Jose P. Balmaceda and Sergio C. Stone, deny any intentional wrongdoing.

Despite his tentative agreement, Asch still can invoke his constitutional right against self-incrimination and refuse to answer specific questions. Charton said Asch will respond to “virtually all” questions, except those that are “designed to harass or embarrass” his client.

“Asch wants to tell his side of the story,” Charton said. “He wants to cooperate.”

Charton and Melanie Blum, an attorney representing 14 couples who allege their eggs or embryos were stolen, expect to complete a draft of the tentative agreement by the end of this week or early next week. The agreement must have the final approval of Superior Court Judge Leonard Goldstein.

Under the agreement, Asch must pay $500 in travel expenses to the attorneys involved in the deposition. He also must pay for renting space for the deposition, which will either be at the U.S. Consulate or at a Tijuana hotel. The deposition is expected to last four days, attorneys said.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys, once fearful Asch would never appear for a deposition and would never testify if he did, seemed pleased with Wednesday’s agreement, which was hashed out after about 90 minutes of closed-door discussions in Orange County Superior Court.

“It’s very unusual for a group of American attorneys to take a deposition in a foreign country,” said attorney William G. Koontz, who represents two couples who allege misappropriation of eggs. “I just want the deposition. I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”

In December, Goldstein ordered Asch to appear for a deposition in Newport Beach on Friday. But on Wednesday morning, Charton, who replaced Asch’s previous attorneys, filed papers in Orange County Superior Court to postpone the deposition, arguing that the doctor needed more time to prepare. That triggered the agreement that they meet in Tijuana.

In other legal action Wednesday, Asch’s attorneys also filed court papers seeking to force the University of California to pay for Asch’s legal defense.

UC officials, who have 30 days to respond, have refused to pay any legal fees from more than a dozen lawsuits.