Sofia Vergara's ex-fiancé Nick Loeb has lost a custody battle over the couple's frozen pre-embryos.
The pair split in 2014, and have been embroiled in a battle over the embryos ever since. However, last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in Louisiana denied Nick's appeal, following a prior ruling that dismissed his custody lawsuit.
Nick was seeking full custody of the frozen pre-embryos created during IVF treatments. The case, in Louisiana, was dismissed and now the appeal has also been ruled against, appearing to be on the grounds of jurisdiction.
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The court ruled: "It is clear that the connection between the claims against Ms. Vergara and the State of Louisiana is weak.
"As discussed infra, Appellants are not domiciled in or residents of the State of Louisiana and the basis of their cause of action is the IVF procedure, which resulted in the creation of two embryos."
The documents also claim that Nick's legal team had been "forum shopping" in order to find a court sympathetic to the case. "It is undisputed that the IVF procedure was conducted in California," the documents read.
"Further, in his deposition, Mr. Loeb affirmatively agreed to the following: his sperm was donated in California; Ms. Vergara's ova was donated in California; the embryos were created in California; Ms. Vergara, along with Mr. Loeb executed a contract with ART (a California company) in California, which is responsible for storing and preserving the embryos; and the embryos have always been located in California.
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"Thus, since all of the conduct giving rise to the nonresidents' (Appellants) claims against the nonresident-Appellee/Defendant (Ms. Vergara) occurred in California it logically follows that no court in Louisiana can claim specific jurisdiction over Ms. Vergara.
"It is clear that Mr. Loeb blatantly engaged in forum shopping when he selected, in concert with a member of the bar, Attorney McQueen, Plaquemines Parish to file the instant lawsuit, with full knowledge that it was the improper venue.
"... Their behaviour brings disrepute to and makes a mockery of the Louisiana legal system and the bar and is abhorrent."
Sofia, 48 and Nick, 45 were first engaged in 2012 and decided to undergo IVF to freeze embryos for the future. However, after breaking up a couple of years later, Nick filed a lawsuit for full custody.
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Sofia, who has one adult son named Manolo, went on to marry Joe Manganiello in November 2015.
Tyla has contacted Sofia's representative for comment. Meanwhile, an attorney for Loeb told PEOPLE: "We will be appealing to the Louisiana Supreme Court."
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