Mr Justice Jay has dismissed a claim for damages brought by the father of a child born by IVF. He had claimed as damages the costs of the upbringing of his six year old daughter following his estranged partner’s forgery of his written consent to thaw and implant a frozen embryo. Although the clinic were held not to have been negligent in any way, the Court considered that the clinic had given a contractual guarantee that no child would be born without the valid written consent of both parents. No damages for breach of such guarantee were recoverable on public policy grounds.
Jeremy Hyam QC and Suzanne Lambert, instructed by James Lawford Davies of Hempsons, were successful in their defence of the claim in damages against the clinic.