One million dollars -- a dream come true for struggling college student Ashlynn Morgan. All she has to do is sign on the dotted line and agree to become surrogate mother for CEO multi billionaire Felix Dunnerson and his wife Deborah.
Yet, during th...
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"In Re Baby Q."
This time, I take my time walking over to the courtroom. It's my last ditch effort to avoid the inevitable: facing Felix and having Judge Delarosa determine the fate of my son. Joshua assesses my chance to keep custody about fifty-fifty. I think it's less.
The judge stares at us from his bench. Again, he doesn't mutter a word or swings his gavel until absolute silence has fallen over the courtroom. When he finally begins to speak, he glares right at me.
"Before we start the hearing, there are a few motions to dispose of. First, there is the matter of paternity. Ms. Cruz has submitted DNA testing to the court that conclusively shows that Mr. Dunnerson is the father of Baby Quentin. Mr. McDermott, did you and your client have a chance to review the report?"
"We have, and there is no objection to formally enter the report into the court record."
"Very well. I hereby find that Mr. Dunnerson has standing in these proceedings both as biological father and under the surrogacy agreement. Next is a petition, filed by Ms. Cruz on behalf of the Dunnersons, for contempt of court by Ms. Morgan and sanctions. The petition is based on an affidavit filed by Ms. Morgan in the Family Court in Vermont when she applied for custody. In this affidavit, Ms. Morgan fails to inform the court that there was already a case pending in California. Mr. McDermott, what was your client's justification for doing this?"
Joshua gets to his feet. "Your Honor, first off, please accept our deepest apologies for the inconvenience this matter has caused both the court and the opposing party. Ms. Morgan signed the affidavit right after she woke up from her C-section, at a time where her mind was unable to absorb the gravity of the situation. She simply relied on bad advice given by council in Vermont. At no time did she intend to mislead the Vermont court or gain an unfair advantage."
Felix snorts. Judge Delarosa shoots him a nasty look, which in turn gets his lawyer to put her hand on his arm. For a beat, the tension turns explosive before everyone stops twitching in their seats.
The judge's attention shifts back to my table. "Nice try, Mr. McDermott, but as you know, ignorance of the law is no defense. The same goes for signing sworn court documents. If they get filed, I expect that the party has read and understands them. Ms. Morgan is a bright law scholar who should've known that her actions bear consequences." For a second, his glare drills into me. "Yet, I do find mitigating circumstances due to Ms. Morgan's surgery and will not hold her in contempt of court. However, sanctions are appropriate under the circumstances. I hereby fine her ten thousand dollars in court and attorney fees."
I gasp. With all the recent legal bills, this will deplete my funds to a dangerously low level. A couple of more hearings and I'll be broke again.
"Now let's begin with the testimony." Judge Delarosa looks right at Felix's lawyer. "Ms. Cruz, please call your first witness."
