Nick Loeb Allowed To File Amended Suit In Custody Battle With Sofia Vergara Over Frozen Embryos

A judge has ruled that Sofia Vergara's ex-fiancé, businessman Nick Loeb, can file an amended lawsuit seeking custody of their frozen embryos. The ruling will allow Loeb to press for custody of the two frozen female embryos which were frozen when he was in a relationship with Vergara. The ruling was made on Friday (22nd May) in a Santa Monica, California court presided over by Superior Court Judge Lawrence Cho.

Nick Loeb and Sofia Vergara are embroiled in a legal battle over the custody of their frozen embryos.

The news of the 42-year-old Modern Family star and Loeb's legal battle broke last month but there had already been legal proceedings dating from last August. In August 2014, Loeb filed suit in order to seek a ruling that the embryos could not be destroyed. However, this recent suit is the first time Loeb has referenced the issue of custody over the embryos and acknowledged the possibility of bringing them to term without Vergara's consent. In the hearing, Loeb's lawyer claimed Vergara had breached an oral agreement in agreeing to bring the embryos to term using a surrogate and further explained Loeb's motivation in pushing for custody.

"He [Loeb] does believe they [the embryos] are his daughters," Christina Goodrich, Loeb's lawyer, explained to ET.

However, there has been some suggestion from Vergara's representatives that this whole court case is a publicity stunt in order for Loeb to raise his profile.

"[The] plaintiff is using this lawsuit to continue to attack [Vergara] in the press and continue to have his own visibility in the press," Vergara's lawyer Fred Silberberg said in court.

Silberberg also referenced a written agreement between the Loeb and Vergara in which they had agreed that the embryos would only be brought to term if both parties agreed. Vergara, in a recent radio interview, alluded to this and stated it was legally binding. Loeb, on the other hand, claimed in an op-ed and later on a talk show that he wants to "protect" the lives he created and bring them to term, no matter what his relationship with Vergara is. He further stipulated that the agreement between them did not address what would happen if they split up.

Vergara and Loeb began dating in 2010 and announced their engagement in 2012. They separated in April of last year. During their relationship, they attempted to conceive twice using surrogates. When their attempts proved unsuccessful, they resorted to freezing embryos with the view to implant them in a surrogate when the time was right.

Vergara began dating Magic Mike XXL actor, Joe Manganiello, in August 2014 and they became engaged in December. Vergara, who has a 22-year-old son from a previous relationship, has not ruled out having children with Manganiello and, in a recent interview, revealed she was thinking about having them sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, it looks like there are stressful times ahead now that Vergara and Loeb will be battling it out in court.

Sofia Vergara is now engaged to Joe Manganiello.