Most UCI Suits Near Settlement

SANTA ANA —  More than half of the 90 lawsuits involving former UC Irvine fertility patients whose eggs were taken without their consent were nearing settlement pending approval by the UC Board of Regents, attorneys said Friday.

After a week of negotiations, terms of 21 cases were agreed upon between attorneys for UCI and fertility patients. Those cases must be reviewed by Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert E. Thomas, who is overseeing the joint litigation.

An additional 26 cases are expected to be finalized within the next few weeks and must also be approved by the regents and then reviewed by Thomas.

To date, 21 cases involving the university and three UCI fertility specialists--Drs. Ricardo H. Asch, Jose P. Balmaceda and Dr. Sergio C. Stone--have been settled.

More than $1.1 million was paid to settle just two of the cases, officials said. Attorneys would not disclose terms of the recent settlements, but said the information will be available after the judge’s review.

“The bottom line is that we’re moving to settle a large majority of these cases and we’ll continue to do so as best as we can,” said Byron Beam, a Santa Ana attorney representing UCI.

Lawrence Eisenberg, one of two attorneys representing former patients, said the “global settlement” process served their clients’ best interests.

“This process is an earnest attempt to ensure that the victims and the university could obtain closure in these difficult and emotional matters,” Eisenberg said.

Only a fraction of the cases are left to be settled and many of those involve former patients at AMI Garden Grove Medical Center, where Asch and Balmaceda practiced before relocating to UCI Medical Center in Orange.

Attorneys said the likelihood of resolving the remaining cases is good, and hope to finish by the end of the year.