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Everyone Should Learn a Little about Law

Does Failing To Disclose A Vasectomy Or Tubal Ligation Constitute Fraud?

10 March 2015

Kaylee Wells

Marriage requires a certain amount of honesty, especially about something as serious as whether or not one wants to or can have children. Lack of honesty in this area can have dire consequences for a person's relationship and checkbook. If someone lies about or fails to disclose that he or she had a reproductive sterilization procedure when asked, that person could be sued for fraud.

Reproductive Fraud

Most of the time when couples go to court over reproductive fraud issues it's for failing to take proper precautions to prevent pregnancy. For instance, in 1998, a man sued his ex-girlfriend for breach of contract because he said she didn't take her birth control pills as per their agreement to avoid bringing children into the relationship.

Courts have also handled cases involving the theft and unauthorized use of sperm to induce pregnancy. A Louisiana man is currently suing his ex-girlfriend who he claims used his sperm without his authorization to get pregnant. The woman allegedly convinced a sperm bank to give her the man's deposit and then had herself artificially inseminated. The case is ongoing.

However, men and women can also land themselves in court by failing to disclose their inability to have children or produce children. A woman won an award of $305,000 in 2004 after suing her ex-husband for not telling her he'd had a vasectomy. The woman alleges she and her ex-spouse discussed having children prior to getting married in 1996. Despite all attempts, the couple was unable to conceive. It wasn't until 2001 that she found out the reason was because the man had the sterilization procedure done in 1994. This led her to sue for misrepresentation and the jury took her side.

Elements of Fraud

To successfully prove fraud occurred, several elements must be true:

• There was a misrepresentation or concealment of fact. This includes outright lying, presenting a half-truth, or failing to convey important information a person needed to know.
• The misrepresentation or concealment was material to the transaction between the parties involved.
• If a person misrepresented a fact, he or she must have known or should have known the statement was false.
• There was intent to deceive.
• The person harmed relied on the misrepresentation to his or her detriment.
• The affected person suffered harm as a result of the misrepresentation.

Failure to prove even one of these elements can lead to a court loss. For instance, you have to prove the person knew he or she had been sterilized and when this information was conveyed to the individual. This may seem like the easiest part of your case, but there have been incidents where people were sterilized without their knowledge or consent.

Another tricky area is proving you were harmed by the person's failure to disclose he or she could not impregnate or conceive. In the case where the woman sued her husband for not telling her about his vasectomy, one reason she prevailed was because his ability to father children factored into her decision to marry him. She relied on his statement to her detriment (i.e. she spent many of her childbearing years married to him and incurred some financial costs as well).

In some cases, the harm may not be as clear cut. For instance, if you talk about having kids but delayed attempting to conceive, it may be difficult to convince the court that harm was done since you did not actually attempt to complete a "transaction" with the person.

People should be free to make the reproductive choices that are best for them. At the same time, failure to advise a relationship partner of an inability to conceive or impregnate can lead to unnecessary emotional and financial pain. If you find yourself in this situation, contact a personal injury attorney for advice and assistance.

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