On Wednesday June 5, 2019, Prelude Fertility Inc., the parent company of San Francisco-based Pacific Fertility Center, asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley to dismiss the proposed class action lawsuit accusing Pacific Fertility of negligently allowing patients’ stored eggs and embryos to be destroyed in a cryogenic tank failure. The defendants seek dismissal of the suit on procedural grounds, that the patients improperly lumped claims together in the suit against it and a related but separate entity, Pacific MSO LLC.
The lawsuit alleges that in March 2018 the clinic negligently allowed a cryogenic egg and embryo preservation tank to fail, leading to the loss of thousands of stored eggs and embryos belonging to more than 400 individuals and families. The stored eggs and embryos were destroyed when ruinous temperature escalations went completely and, as the suit alleges, improperly unnoticed. As reported by Law360 (subscription), the lawsuit also brings product liability and other claims against tank manufacturer Chart Industries Inc.
Lieff Cabraser partner Sarah R. London, one of the plaintiff attorneys in the case, told Law360 on Wednesday that her team is reviewing the motions and will soon prepare a response.
“We continue to believe in the merits of our case and will zealously seek to obtain justice for the women and families affected by this disaster,” London said. “For them, time is of the essence; they need and deserve answers to ensure a tragedy like this doesn’t happen again. We hope we can move past these challenges to the pleadings and get to the heart of the case as soon as possible.”
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