DISTRICT COURT

MESA COUNTY, COLORADO

JANE DOE, JANET DOE, and JANA DOE,

v.

Defendants:

DR. PAUL B. JONES, DR. STEPHAN MEACHAM, and

Case No.
Attorney for Plaintiff:
Division/Courtroom:
Paula Greisen, #19784, [email protected]
Meredith Munro, #25880, [email protected]
KING & GREISEN, LLP
1670 York St.
Denver, Colorado 80206
Phone: (303) 298-9878

COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND

Plaintiffs, Jane Doe (hereinafter also referred to as “Mother”), Janet Doe, and Jana Doe

(hereinafter also collectively referred to as “Daughters”), by and through their attorney, Paula

Greisen and Meredith Munro of KING & GREISEN, LLP, submit this Complaint and Jury Demand

against Defendant Dr. Paul B. Jones, Defendant Dr. Stephen Meacham and Defendant

Genealogic-Obstetrical Associates of Western Colorado, P.C. and its successor Women’s Health

Care of Western Colorado, P.C. (hereinafter also referred to as the “WHWC”) as follows:
 I. INTRODUCTION

1. Defendants used Dr. Jones’ sperm to impregnate his patient, Plaintiff Jane Doe

(“Mother”), twice without her knowledge or consent. Both times, Defendants promised Mother

that they were using sperm from an anonymous donor who was a young and healthy Mesa

College student or member of the business community who physically resembled Mother’s

husband. Both times, Mother was charged a donor fee, and told that the procedure would be

completely anonymous, so that Mother would not know the donor, and the donor would not

know Mother.

2. Instead, Defendants deceived Mother by using Defendant Jones’ own sperm to

impregnate her during both procedures. Defendants clearly violated the most basic tenants of

biomedical ethics to do no harm, respect autonomy, and be truthful.

3. Plaintiffs Jana and Janet Doe (“Daughters”) were born from Defendants’ medical

negligence and breach of duty to Mother.

4. Defendants concealed their deception and betrayal from Mother. Plaintiffs only

recently discovered that Defendant Jones used his own sperm to inseminate Mother after Jana

Doe submitted a DNA sample to online databases 23andme.com and Ancestry.com.

5. The Doe family were not the only victims. For over two decades, Defendants told

numerous hopeful families that they would inseminate the prospective mothers with semen from

anonymous donors, but Defendants instead used Dr. Jones’ own sperm.

6. As a result of their conduct, Defendants committed medical negligence, fraud,

failure to obtain informed consent, battery, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract,

extreme and outrageous conduct, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and aiding and abetting

breach of fiduciary duty.

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 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

7. The action arises under the laws of the State of Colorado.

8. Jurisdiction is proper pursuant to C.R.S. § 13-1-124(1)(a) and (b), based upon a

business transaction and Defendants’ commission of tortious acts within the State of Colorado.

9. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to C.R.C.P. Rule 98(c)(5) because this

action involves torts and breach of contract committed in Mesa County, Colorado, where

Defendants reside and where WHWC operates a brick-and-mortar business.

III. PARTIES

10. Plaintiff Jane Doe is a natural person and is and was a resident of the State of

Colorado during all relevant time periods.

11. Plaintiff Janet Doe is a natural person who resided in and outside of the State of

Colorado during all relevant time periods.

12. Plaintiff Jana Doe is a natural person and is and was a resident of the State of

Colorado during all relevant time periods.

13. Defendant Paul B. Jones is a natural person and is and was a resident of the State

of Colorado and domiciled in Mesa County during all relevant time periods. Before surrendering

his medical license, Defendant was licensed to practice medicine, License Number 17520, in the

State of Colorado during all relevant times. His specialty and area of practice was in obstetrics

and gynecology (OB-GYN).

14. Defendant Stephen R. Meacham is a natural person and was a resident of the State

of Colorado and domiciled in Mesa County during all relevant time periods. Dr. Meacham was

licensed to practice medicine, License No. 15950, in the State of Colorado at all relevant times.

His specialty and area of practice was in obstetrics and gynecology (OB-GYN).

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 15. Defendant Women’s Health Care of Western Colorado PC, is a Colorado

Corporation with its primary place of business and office located at 2525 N. 8th St., #202, Grand

Junction, Colorado 81501. WHWC previously operated as Gynecologic-Obstetrical Associates

of Western Colorado, PC. At all relevant times, the business’s primary place of business was in

Mesa County, Colorado. Defendants Jones and Meacham were the owners/members and agents

of WHWC at all times relevant to this lawsuit.

IV. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

16. In 1983, Mother and Father sought fertility treatment from WHWC. After a

series of treatments failed, Dr. Jones advised the couple to try artificial insemination. He

recommended using a mixture of donor sperm and Father’s sperm, which he contended had an

85-90% success rate.

17. Dr. Jones and WHWC promised to use a young, healthy donor from Mesa

College or the business community, with similar physical characteristics to Father, including

brown hair and green eyes. Jones and WHWC also promised that the donor would provide a

thorough medical and family history, which they would screen for any genetic complications

before using his sperm.

18. Dr. Jones and WHWC also promised that the identity of the donor would be

anonymous. Specifically, Defendants promised that, in addition to Mother and Father not

knowing the donor, the donor would also not know Mother or Father. This was important to

Mother because she did not want the donor to know he shared a biological child with her and she

wanted no personal connection to the donor.

19. Defendants charged Mother a $50.00 “donor” fee for the donor sperm that would

be paid to WHWC.

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 20. After one failed artificial insemination procedure which resulted in a miscarriage,

Mother was inseminated again in December 1985 and January 1986 and became pregnant with

her first child, Janet Doe.

21. Mother trusted Dr. Jones and WHWC with a very intimate process, in which she

believed Dr. Jones and WHWC would place her welfare above any self-interests or obligations

to others, be honest with her, use sound medical judgment on her behalf, and advocate for her

welfare.

22. Instead, Dr. Jones and WHWC allowed Mother to be inseminated with sperm

from Dr. Jones, without her knowledge or consent.

23. Then in his 40s, Dr. Jones was substantially older than Defendants told Mother

her donor would be. He also was not “healthy,” as he was a carrier for cystic fibrosis, and he did

not have the same hair and eye color as Mother’s late husband.

24. At all relevant times, upon information and belief, Dr. Meacham and WHWC

knew or should have known that Dr. Jones was using his own sperm as a donor to the patients at

WHWC. Upon information and belief, Dr. Meacham was also participating in this conduct by

allowing his patients to be unknowing recipients of Dr. Jones’ sperm, while representing to his

patients that the donor was an “anonymous” member of the community. Defendants failed to

follow the established medical protocols and standards of care for providing this fertility

treatment.

25. In October of 1987, Mother and Father returned to Defendants for artificial

insemination in the hopes of conceiving another child. Mother again paid a $50.00 fee for the

donor. Defendants promised that the donor would be the same person used in the previous

insemination, again representing that the donor was an anonymous member of the community.

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As a result of this procedure, Mother became pregnant and gave birth to her second daughter,

Jana Doe.

26. About thirty years later, in 2018, daughter Jana Doe took a genetic test from

Ancestry.com. When she got the results, she was shocked to learn that two women, strangers to

her, were shown as probable half-siblings or first cousins.

27. Both women subsequently contacted Jana, told her that they were conceived at

WHWC using an anonymous sperm donor, and wanted to know if she had any medical

information about the donor. Jana explained that she had no information.

28. The following year, in August 2019, Jana again visited the Ancestry.com website

and found about 10 probable family members. She contacted one of them who told Jana that she

had also been conceived at WHWC and that she had traced her genetic link back to Dr. Jones’

family.

29. Jana told her sister Janet about what she discovered and Janet took a genetic test

in December of 2019. This test confirmed that she and her sister Jana were “full” sisters – having

the same mother and biological father.

30. Mother and Daughters have since learned that Dr. Jones and his partner, Dr.

Meacham, routinely used Dr. Jones’ sperm in fertility treatments for over 20 years – and never

disclosed this to their patients.

31. Mother and Daughters suffered immense emotional harm when they learned that

Daughters were conceived from these shockingly deceptive and negligent practices.

32. Had Mother been aware that Defendants intended to use Dr. Jones’ own genetic

material for her artificial insemination, she would have not consented to the procedure.

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 33. Both Daughters have tested positive as carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene, an

inherited genetic mutation. Cystic Fibrosis is a rare progressive genetic disorder that affects

roughly 2-3 percent of the Caucasian-American population. This disorder causes persistent lung

inflammation, limits the ability to breathe, and results in a significantly decreased life span.

Mother has tested negative as a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene. Hence, Dr. Jones must have

this gene and passed this genetic mutation to Daughters. Upon information and belief, other

recipients of Dr. Jones’ sperm also gave birth to children who are also carriers of the cystic

fibrosis gene, which has resulted in at least one child being born with the disease. Defendants

made no efforts to engage in any type of screening of Dr. Jones as a sperm donor, did not keep

the required medical records regarding his donation of sperm to Mother or any other patient, and

did not follow established standards of care in performing this service.

34. WHWC’s use of Dr. Jones’s sperm to inseminate WHWC patients without their

knowledge was not an isolated incident, but was rather a pattern and practice by Defendants.

Upon information and belief, WHWC, through Dr. Jones and Dr. Meacham, used Dr. Jones’

sperm to inseminate countless patients from at least 1975 to 1990. WHWC knew or should have

known that the sperm of Defendant Jones was being used to impregnant Defendant Jones’ and

Defendant Meacham’s patients at the clinic.

35. WHWC, and Dr. Jones and Dr. Meacham (as the sole owners and operators of

WHWC who were for all purposes the same as WHWC), knowingly failed to have proper

procedures in place to protect the integrity of the sperm used at the clinic for its fertility

treatments. Had such procedures been in place, Defendant Jones and Defendant Meacham could

not have used Defendant Jones’ sperm to inseminate the WHWC patients over a period of fifteen

years. As a clinic, WHWC was negligent in its operations, in ensuring that its staff was properly

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managed, trained and supervised, and in ensuring the services provided to its patients meet even

minimal standards of care.

36. Upon information and belief, Defendants engaged in this long-standing pattern

and practice with the knowing assistance of WHWC staff.

37. Defendants’ conduct has caused Mother and Daughters serious physical and

emotional harm.

V. LEGAL CLAIMS

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Defendant Jones Engaged in Medical Negligence Against Plaintiff Mother

38. Plaintiff Mother incorporates by reference all allegations in every preceding and

subsequent paragraph as if fully set forth herein.

39. Dr. Jones was a medical doctor licensed in the State of Colorado, and the medical

care he provided to his patients required a certain degree of medical skill and professional

judgment.

40. Dr. Jones owed a duty of care to Mother due to the physician/patient relationship

formed when Dr. Jones’ provided her with infertility treatment as her OB-GYN.

41. Dr. Jones breached the standard of care he owed to Mother when he intentionally

used his own sperm to inseminate her without her knowledge, contrary to their agreement for her

medical treatment and in breach of the standard of care for providing this service.

42. Dr. Jones failed to provide health care that was consistent with the standard of

care required of medical practitioners. By using his own sperm to secretly impregnate his patient,

instead of using the sperm of an anonymous third-party donor, he did not act as a reasonably

careful physician in the same area of practice would and should have provided.

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 43. As a direct and proximate result of Dr. Jones’ breach of duty of care, as set forth

above, Mother has suffered economic damages and emotional injuries with physical

manifestations.

44. Dr. Jones’ breach of the duty of care was a substantial factor in producing

Mother’s injuries.

45. Mother’s injuries were preventable, foreseeable, and will continue indefinitely

into the future.

SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Defendant Jones Committed Fraud Against Plaintiff Mother

46. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all allegations in every preceding and

subsequent paragraph as if fully set forth herein.

47. Dr. Jones knowingly and intentionally made false misrepresentations of material

facts to Mother that the donor was anonymous, young, healthy, and would have the

characteristics of her late husband.

48. Dr. Jones also knowingly and intentionally failed to inform Mother of a material

omission of fact, namely that he was the “anonymous” sperm donor.

49. Dr. Jones knew that Mother did not know the truth and that she would and did

reasonably rely on his false statements and material omissions. Defendant Jones made material

misrepresentations to convince Mother to agree to the procedure.

50. As a direct and proximate result of Dr. Jones’ fraudulent statements, Mother has

suffered economic damages and emotional injuries with physical manifestations.

51. Dr. Jones’ fraudulent statements were a substantial factor in producing Mother’s

injuries.

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 52. Mother’s injuries were preventable, foreseeable, and will continue indefinitely

into the future.

THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Defendant Jones Negligent Misrepresentation to Plaintiff Mother

53. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

54. Dr. Jones supplied false information to Mother regarding the identity, health, age

and physical characteristics of the “anonymous” donor and made negligent misrepresentations to

Mother that he would abide by the standards of care in providing fertility services to Mother.

55. In so doing, Dr. Jones failed to exercise reasonable care and competence.

56. Mother relied upon Dr. Jones’ negligent misrepresentations.

57. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Jones’ negligent misrepresentation,

Mother has suffered economic damages and emotional injuries with physical manifestations.

58. Dr. Jones’ negligent misrepresentation was a substantial factor in producing

Mother’s injuries.

59. Mother’s injuries were preventable, foreseeable, and will continue indefinitely

into the future.

FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Defendants Jones and Women’s Healthcare of Western Colorado Breached their Contract
with Mother and Daughters

60. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

61. Mother entered into two contracts with Dr. Jones and WHWC to artificially

inseminate Mother with the genetic material of an anonymous donor who would be “young and

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healthy,” with the same hair and eye color as her late husband, and would provide medical

treatment in accordance with the medical standards of care for that treatment.

62. For each contract, Dr. Jones charged Mother an additional $50.00 fee to pay the

“anonymous” donor.

63. For the benefit of the children to be conceived from their agreement, Mother,

Jones, and WHWC agreed that the sperm would come from a “young and healthy” donor, as a

“young and healthy” donor is more likely to donate sperm that will result in healthy children, and

that the medical standards of care would be followed in providing the fertility treatment.

64. The consideration given to the health and well-being of the children who would

be born as a result of these contracts makes Daughters the third-party beneficiary of the two

contracts. Although not born at the time the contract was entered into, the contract anticipated

that children would be the result of the contract and that these children would be the beneficiaries

of the proper screening and protocols used to ensure that the sperm donor was a suitable donor.

It is more probable than not that a proper sperm donor would not be a carrier of the cystic

fibrosis gene and thus, this gene would not have been passed to the Daughters if Defendant Jones

had not used his own sperm. As a result of the breach of the contract by Jones and WHWC,

Daughters now live in fear that their children, or their children’s off-spring, will be adversely

affected by this horrible disease.

65. WHWC and Dr. Jones willfully and wantonly breached their contracts with

Mother and Daughters by using Dr. Jones’ personal genetic material to impregnate Mother and

failing to follow the established standards of care to provide such treatment.

66. The nature of the contracts at issue were highly personal in nature and involved a

high level of personal trust and a person in position of trust.

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 67. At the time the parties entered each contract, the Defendants knew or should have

known that economic and non-economic damages would be incurred by Mother and Daughters

as a result of the breaches of contract.

68. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ breach of contract, as set forth

above, Mother and Daughters have suffered economic damages and emotional injuries with

physical manifestations.

69. Mother’s and Daughters’ injuries were preventable, foreseeable, and will continue

indefinitely into the future.

FIFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Defendant Jones Committed Battery Against Mother

70. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

71. Mother consented to an artificial insemination procedure wherein she would

receive sperm from an anonymous donor who was properly screened, the donor would be

selected using established standards of medical care, and the services would be provided under

established standards of care.

72. Defendant Jones intentionally touched and caused Mother to be touched in a

harmful and offensive manner.

73. Mother did not consent to Dr. Jones’ inseminating her with his own sperm and

providing medical services that did not adhere to the established standards of care.

74. As a direct and proximate result of Dr. Jones’ battery, Mother has suffered

economic damages and emotional injuries with physical manifestations.

75. Dr. Jones’ battery was a substantial factor in producing Mother’s injuries.

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 76. Mother’s injuries were preventable, foreseeable, and will continue indefinitely

into the future.

SIXTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Defendants Conduct Against Mother and Daughters was Extreme and Outrageous

77. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

78. Defendants engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct and did so recklessly or

with the intent of causing Plaintiffs severe emotional distress. As a result, Plaintiffs suffered

severe emotional distress.

79. Defendants’ conduct was so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as

to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and the behavior is regarded as atrocious and

utterly intolerable in a civilized community.

80. It was foreseeable that Defendants’ conduct would injure Mother and Daughters.

81. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ extreme and outrageous conduct,

Mother and Daughters have suffered severe emotional distress and economic damages.

SEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

WHWC, Dr. Meacham, and Dr. Jones Negligently Harmed Mother

82. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

83. During all relevant time periods, Dr. Jones and Dr. Meacham were the sole

owners/members of WHWC and directed its operations. Hence, during all relevant time periods,

they were WHWC.

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 84. Mother was a client of WHWC and as such, WHWC and the other Defendants

owed a duty of care to Mother.

85. All Defendants knew or should have known that patients were being inseminated

with Dr. Jones’ sperm instead of the sperm WHWC promised would be provided by an

anonymous donor. All Defendants knew or should have known that fertility services were being

provided to Mother and other WHWC patients that was in breach of acceptable standards of care

patients when providing fertility services.

86. All Defendants breached the duty of care to Mother by failing to have and/or

enforce policies and procedures and provide adequate training and supervision to staff to ensure

that the clinic, its physicians, and staff complied with established standards of care and to ensure

the safe and ethical treatment of Mother and the other patients.

87. All Defendants breached the duty of care to Mother by failing to have and/or

enforce policies and procedures sufficient to ensure that WHWC prevented medical harm to

Mother.

88. All Defendants inflicted these harms on Mother and on other WHWC patients,

knowing that the standard of care for fertility treatments was regularly being breached by

WHWC physicians and staff.

89. As a direct and proximate cause of Defendants’ breach of the duty of care, Mother

has sustained economic damages and emotional injuries. Defendants’ breach of their duty to

exercise reasonable care was a substantial factor in producing Mother’s injuries.

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 EIGHTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Dr. Jones Breached his Fiduciary Duty Owed to Mother

90. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

91. The doctor-patient relationship formed between Dr. Jones and Mother established

a fiduciary duty which Dr. Jones owed to Mother as her physician.

92. Dr. Jones breached his duty of loyalty to Mother by using his own sperm to

artificially inseminate her and by failing to follow established standards of care and his ethical

duties to her as his patient.

93. Defendant Jones breached his duty to use reasonable care and skill that was

consistent with the standards of care expected of a medical provider of fertility treatment at the

relevant time. In so doing, Defendant Jones did not act as a reasonably careful physician would

or should have acted.

94. Mother has suffered substantial damages as a result of these breaches of fiduciary

duty, and Dr. Jones’ conduct was a substantial contributing cause of these damages.

NINTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF

Dr. Meacham aided and abetted Dr. Jones’ Breach of Fiduciary Duty Owed to Mother

95. Plaintiffs incorporate all paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth under

this claim and further allege:

96. As set forth above, Defendant Jones breached the fiduciary duty he owed to

Mother.

97. Defendant Meacham knew or should have known of Defendant Jones’ breach of

fiduciary duty to Mother and many other patients of WHWC.

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 98. Defendant Meacham aided and abetted the regular practice at WHWC of

providing fertility treatments to its patients, including Mother, that failed to follow established

standards of care.

99. Dr. Meacham and Dr. Jones were the sole owners and operators of a medical

practice that had a pattern and practice whereby Dr. Jones’ sperm was used to inseminate

WHWC patients for over 15 years, without the knowledge of the patients. Both Dr. Meacham

and Dr. Jones profited financially from this long-standing pattern and practice of their business.

100. Mother has suffered substantial damages as a direct and proximate cause of Dr.

Meacham’s conduct in aiding and abetting Dr. Jones’ breaches of fiduciary duty.

VI. RELIEF REQUESTED

WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Court enter judgment in their

favor and against all Defendants, and award the following relief, to the fullest extent allowed by

law:

a. Declaratory and injunctive relief, as appropriate;

b. Actual economic damages as established at trial;

c. Compensatory damages, including but not limited to pecuniary and non-pecuniary

losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life;

d. Punitive damages as allowed by law:

e. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest at the highest lawful rate;

f. Attorneys’ fees and costs as may be allowed by order of this Court; and

g. Such other and further relief as shall be deemed just and proper by this Court.

PLAINTIFFS DEMAND A JURY TRIAL ON ALL ISSUES SO TRIABLE

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Dated this 21st day of May 2021.

Respectfully submitted,

s/ Paula Greisen
Paula Greisen (#19784)
Meredith A. Munro (#25880)
KING & GREISEN, LLP
1670 York Street, Denver, CO 80026
(303) 298-9878 (phone)
(303) 298-9879 (fax)
[email protected]
[email protected]

Plaintiffs’ Mailing Addresses:

Jane Doe
c/o KING & GREISEN, LLP
1670 York Street
Denver, CO 80206

Janet Doe
c/o KING & GREISEN, LLP
1670 York Street
Denver, CO 80206

Jana Doe
c/o KING & GREISEN, LLP
1670 York Street
Denver, CO 80206

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