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Sperm donor case: Marotta to give deposition

Topekan being sued by state told to bring documents with him

Posted: January 31, 2013 

 

By Tim Hrenchir

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

 

Topekan William Marotta has been ordered to give depositions to attorneys representing the Kansas Department for Children and Families in a civil case it filed contending he legally isn’t a sperm donor but rather a father.

 

Shawnee County District Court records show Timothy E. Keck, co-lead counsel for the state in the case, issued a notice Friday to take the deposition at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Topeka law office of Swinnen & Associates LLC, which represents Marotta.

 

A deposition is out-of-court witness testimony that is recorded as part of the discovery process and may be used later in court.

 

The Department for Children and Families filed the case in October seeking to have Marotta declared the father of a 3-year-old girl who Jennifer Schreiner bore in 2009 in Topeka, so he can be forced to pay child support.

 

Marotta is fighting the attempt. He says he signed a contract waiving parental rights and responsibilities while agreeing to donate sperm he provided in a plastic cup to Schreiner and Angela Bauer, who were then lesbian partners. Marotta contacted them after they placed an advertisement seeking a sperm donor on Craigslist.

 

The state contends the agreement was moot because Marotta and the women didn’t follow a Kansas statute requiring a licensed physician to perform the artificial insemination.

 

The notice issued Friday calls for Marotta to bring with him:

 

â–  Copies of al contracts between Marotta, Bauer and Schreiner.

 

â–  All documents Marotta possesses relating to the Craigslist ad, including any emails associated with the ad and contract.

 

â–  All documents, correspondences or writings Marotta possesses between himself and Bauer, Schreiner, and the Department for Children and Families regarding the child.

 

Shawnee County District Judge Mary Mattivi, who is hearing the case, on Jan. 3 scheduled an evidentiary hearing for April 9 and 10 and oral arguments for June 17.

The crowd weighs in.
A few reader comments

"Gay and Lesbian couples have children and the children benefit from two parents that love each other and the child. It matters not what they have between their legs. Scientific facts back that up not your belief system."

 

"As a person that has sold sperm, I am very concerned about this case. If the child support is granted, I could end up having the state or individuals coming after me and I did not even get to have sex with any of the women."

 

"No good deed goes unpunished in Kansas...He did a good deed and now is facing heavy legal fees, even if he wins ....and 18 years of child support if he loses.  The state of Kansas should be ashamed, for coercing the mother, AND for filing a frivolous suit against the donor in an effort to escape supporting the child."

 

 

 

 

 

"If any couple has a child from a sperm donor, the sperm donor should be out of the picture. The couple is responsible for that child!"

 

"Once again the State rears it's ugly head and dictates to We the People."

 

"Why is this any different than if it was a man-woman relationship and one parent worked, the other stayed home.. .and then they split and the primary breadwinner in the relationship can no longer work? It is THEIR child, not his."

 

 

 

 

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