Santeno
02-24-2005, 01:02 PM
Check out this story and then tell us what you think about it and who do you think is in the right:<p><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Court: Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy<p>CHICAGO (AP) -- An appeals court said a man can press a claim for emotional distress after learning a former lover had used his sperm to have a baby. But he can't claim theft, the ruling said, because the sperm were hers to keep.<p>The ruling Wednesday by the Illinois Appellate Court sends Dr. Richard O. Phillips' distress case back to trial court.<p>Phillips accuses Dr. Sharon Irons of a ``calculated, profound personal betrayal'' after their affair six years ago, saying she secretly kept semen after they had oral sex, then used it to get pregnant.<p>He said he didn't find out about the child for nearly two years, when Irons filed a paternity lawsuit. DNA tests confirmed Phillips was the father, the court papers state.<p>Phillips was ordered to pay about $800 a month in child support, said Irons' attorney, Enrico Mirabelli.<p>Phillips sued Irons, claiming he has had trouble sleeping and eating and has been haunted by ``feelings of being trapped in a nightmare,'' court papers state.<p>Irons responded that her alleged actions weren't ``truly extreme and outrageous'' and that Phillips' pain wasn't bad enough to merit a lawsuit. The circuit court agreed and dismissed Phillips' lawsuit in 2003.<p>But the higher court ruled that, if Phillips' story is true, Irons ``deceitfully engaged in sexual acts, which no reasonable person would expect could result in pregnancy, to use plaintiff's sperm in an unorthodox, unanticipated manner yielding extreme consequences.''<p>The judges backed the lower court decision to dismiss the fraud and theft claims, agreeing with Irons that she didn't steal the sperm.<p>``She asserts that when plaintiff 'delivered' his sperm, it was a gift -- an absolute and irrevocable transfer of title to property from a donor to a donee,'' the decision said. ``There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request.''<p>Phillips is representing himself in the case. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.<p>``There's a 5-year-old child here,'' Mirabelli said. ``Imagine how a child feels when your father says he feels emotionally damaged by your birth.''</TD></TR></TABLE><p>IMO, The guys should have had the right to sue to have his paternity rights abolished along with any child support payments. what do you guys think?