A Louisiana court sided with Sofia Vergara in the latest development of an ongoing legal battle with ex-fiance Nick Loeb over custody rights for frozen pre-embryos.
Last Wednesday, January 27, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal of the Louisiana Circuit ruled in the Modern Family favor of the actress, maintaining the dismissal of action seeking to obtain custody of pre-embryos. The court additionally filed a reversal of the order of the court of first instance that sealed the discovery in the case, therefore, removing documents related to the public, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Vergara, 48, and Loeb, 45, ended their engagement in May 2014. The actress, who has an adult son named Manolo, married Joe Manganiello in November 2015.
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In 2017, Vergara filed legal documents in California in hopes of preventing Loeb from using, without his written consent, the frozen pre-embryos they created by IVF at the ART Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills while they were still together in 2013. This matter is still pending, by court documents.
Loeb’s initial case of trying to take full custody of viable pre-embryos in order to carry them out was rejected before that, he continued his attempt in the Louisiana court – which has now been rejected.
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The court found Loeb “homeless, homeless and has no intention of being domiciled or resident in any Louisiana state parish” and accused Loeb’s team of “doing forum shopping” to find a court that they expected be sympathetic to your case, although it was not the appropriate jurisdiction.
“Furthermore, based on all the facts ascertained through the deposition testimony, views, sworn statements and allegations contained in the Appellant’s petition and the first amended complaint, it is clear that Mr. Loeb was openly involved in the search for a forum when he selected, together with a member of the Bar Association … the Parish Council of Plaquemines to institute the present action, with full knowledge that it was an improper forum “, reads in the file. “Their behavior brings disrepute and mockery to the Louisiana legal system and lawyers and is abhorrent.”
A representative from Vergara did not comment when contacted by PEOPLE. A Loeb lawyer told PEOPLE: “We will be appealing to the Louisiana Supreme Court.”
Originally published