Man Claims Fertility Center’s Oversight Changed His Life Without Permission

In what might be the wildest fertility clinic story you’ll hear this year, a Louisiana man is taking legal action after his ex-girlfriend allegedly walked into a sperm bank, asked for his stored samples, and walked out with them in — wait for it — a paper lunch bag. Yes, really.

A Vasectomy, A Contract, and A Whole Lot of Drama

Back in 2002, Layne Hardin, 44, made what seemed like a pretty reasonable decision.

After having a son with his then-girlfriend Katherine LeBlanc, he chose to get a vasectomy.

But before going through with the procedure, the couple did what many forward-thinking people do: they froze some of his sperm.

They even signed a contract specifically stating that only LeBlanc would have access to the samples for future baby-making purposes.

The couple later broke up, and Hardin started dating another woman, Toby Devall.

According to Hardin’s lawyer, Cade Bernsen, their relationship was about as stable as a Jenga tower in an earthquake — “volatile” and “on-and-off again” before finally ending two years ago.

The Paper Bag Incident That Changed Everything

Here’s where things get absolutely bonkers.

In 2011, according to the lawsuit, Devall apparently just strolled into Texas Andrology Services sperm bank and asked for Hardin’s samples.

Instead of checking the contract or, you know, doing literally any verification, the sperm bank allegedly handed over two vials in what Hardin’s lawyer describes as a “paper lunch sack.”

“They had a written contract that specified only two people that could access this sperm, yet the sperm bank let someone walk in off the street and take two vials of sperm in a paper lunch sack…They never checked. That’s what’s frightening,” Bernsen told reporters.

From Lunch Bag to Baby Boy

After securing the samples, Devall reportedly went next door to an affiliated fertility clinic and got inseminated.

Fast forward to today, and there’s now a two-year-old boy who Hardin has never met.

But wait — it gets more complicated. Hardin could potentially be on the hook for child support, despite never authorizing the use of his sperm.

Hardin’s lawyer claims this wasn’t just a simple mix-up.

He accuses Devall of having “bluffed her way into getting the sperm” and creating a baby “purposefully out of vindictiveness and to punish him for breaking up with her.”

That’s some next-level ex drama if true.

Devall’s lawyer, John Lee Hoffoss, keeps it surprisingly low-key in his response, stating, “This case involves the life of one innocent child. Soon, 12 men and women will see all of the evidence and make a decision based upon the true facts of the case.”

Meanwhile, Hardin and LeBlanc are suing both the fertility clinic and Devall, citing the sperm bank’s “utter lack of safeguards and protections.”

Because apparently, in 2011, getting someone’s stored sperm was about as complicated as ordering a sandwich to go.


Editor’s Note: This article was sourced from original reporting by ABC News and legal documentation from the ongoing case. All quotes and citations are preserved as they appeared in the original source material.