§ 581-409 — Dispute as to surrogacy agreement

§ 581-409. Dispute as to surrogacy agreement. (a) Any dispute which is\nrelated to a surrogacy agreement other than disputes as to parentage,\nwhich are not resolved through alternative dispute resolution methods,\nshall be resolved by the supreme court, which shall determine the\nrespective rights and obligations of the parties. In any proceeding\ninitiated pursuant to this section, the court may, at its discretion,\nauthorize the use of conferencing or mediation at any point in the\nproceedings.\n (b) Except as expressly provided in the surrogacy agreement or\nsubdivision (c) or (d) of this section, if the agreement is breached by\nthe person acting as surrogate, the spouse of the person acting as\nsurrogate, if applicable, or one or more intended parent, the\nnon-breaching party shall be entitled to all remedies available at law\nor in equity in any dispute related to the surrogacy agreement.\n (c) Specific performance shall not be a remedy available for a breach\nby a person acting as surrogate of a provision in the surrogacy\nagreement that the person acting as surrogate be impregnated, agree to a\nmultiple embryo transfer, terminate or not terminate a pregnancy, or\nsubmit to medical procedures including a cesarean section.\n (d) If any intended parent is adjudicated to be the parent of the\nchild, specific performance is a remedy available for: (1) breach of the\nsurrogacy agreement by a person acting as surrogate which prevents the\nintended parent or parents from exercising the full rights of parentage\nimmediately upon the birth of the child; or (2) breach by the intended\nparent or parents by failure to accept the duties of parentage\nimmediately upon the birth of the child.\n (e) In any proceeding initiated pursuant to this section, where the\nsupreme court determines that the dispute involves both contractual and\nparentage issues, the court may order that the portion of the\nproceedings raising parentage issues may be transferred to the family or\nsurrogate's court.\n