Ohio Supreme Court to hear case on breach of surrogate contract
Monday, April 16, 2007
COLUMBUS ? A professor at Cleveland State University paid a Pennsylvania woman $20,000 to have embryos created from his sperm and donated eggs implanted in her womb. The professor and the woman had a contract: she would carry the babies to term and he would get the kids, but if the woman contested and won custody, he would not be obligated to pay child support and he'd get his $20,000 back. The deal went astray and is now the subject of lawsuits in two states. The breach of contract case will be argued before the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday. It's a unique case because, unlike most surrogate mom disputes, this involved donor eggs so the pregnant surrogate was not biologically related to the offspring. Danielle Bimber of Corry, Pa., gave birth to triplets in November 2003 and then she and her husband, Douglas, decided to keep them. The Bimbers have three other children. James Flynn, the professor, sued in Erie County, Pa., for sole custody but lost. Instead, he got visitation rights and an order to pay $1,750 per month in child support. Then Flynn sued in Summit County to force Bimber to pay back the $20,000 plus expenses and to indemnify him against child support obligations. He lost again. Summit County Common Pleas Court ruled in favor of the Bimbers, saying the surrogate contract was void because Ohio's public policy prohibits "selling" babies. Ohio public policy also prohibits a natural parent from contracting away his or her financial obligations for his or her offspring. Flynn appealed in the 9th District Court of Appeals where the court ruled that Flynn and the egg donor were the triplets' natural parents and the surrogate contract had been breached. The Bimbers are asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reverse the 9th District and are arguing that since the children were born in Pennsylvania, Ohio courts are bound to honor the ruling declaring Danielle Bimber the mom and ordering Flynn to pay child support. In the meantime, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overruled the Erie County decision. Flynn currently has custody of the triplets.