Lawyer May Seek Class Status in UCI Fertility Clinic Suit
The lawyer who filed suit last month alleging that UC Irvine’s fertility clinic sold a couple’s complete genetic material to another woman said Monday that she may seek class-action status for the case.
Attorney Melanie Blum states in Orange County Superior Court filings that she has documents suggesting that at least four couples’ embryos were implanted in other women at UC Irvine’s Center for Reproductive Health, which was closed in 1995 after a widespread scandal over the misappropriation of eggs.
The previous scandal resulted in more than 100 lawsuits being settled by the University of California. Blum said she anticipates filing many more lawsuits in the coming months. Class-action status would allow her to file on behalf of all potential victims.
University officials said they could not comment on the pending case because they had not seen the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, which names the University of California, Dr. Ricardo Asch, Dr. Jose Balmaceda, and UCI’s Center for Reproductive Health, seeks undisclosed monetary damages.
Asch and Balmaceda fled the country after being indicted on federal charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud patients of their genetic material.
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