Sofia Vergara’s Lawyers Deem Lawsuit Reportedly Filed on Behalf of Her Frozen Embryos ‘Unnecessary’

The legal battle between Sofia Vergara and her ex fiancé Nick Loeb over her frozen embryos continued Tuesday after a right-to-live lawsuit was reportedly filed against the actress on behalf of the fertilized eggs.

Court papers filed in Louisiana list the embryos as plaintiffs “Isabella” and “Emma,” according to The New York Post‘s Page Six. The alleged suit asks that Loeb be given full custody of the fertilized eggs so he can have them implanted in a surrogate and so the plaintiffs could receive a trust fund set up for them.

Responding to these reports, Vergara’s lawyers issued this statement to PEOPLE: “Next week the judge presiding over the case was to rule on Ms. Vergara’s request for sanctions against Mr. Loeb for refusing to comply with a court order, and on her motion for summary judgment-seeking dismissal of the case he filed against her, attempting to get control of pre-embryos that he created with Vergara. That genetic material was created pursuant to a written agreement that required both parties written consent to attempt to create a pregnancy. Apparently Mr. Loeb and his counsel, knowing that he was about to lose decided to attempt to save face by taking their proverbial ball and going home. Reports are out that Mr. Loeb has caused a lawsuit to be filed on behalf of the pre-embryos in Louisiana, essentially trying to get the same relief that he was trying to get through his failed legal attempt in California.”

“If these reports are true, this latest maneuver is nothing more than another attempt on the part of Loeb to keep himself in the public eye by keeping himself linked to Ms. Vergara. The media reports contend that Mr. Loeb has caused a lawsuit to be initiated claiming that the pre-embryos — which are not embryos, but rather frozen fertilized ova — have been given names by him and have a right to live. Loeb apparently thinks that he will garner sympathy from the public and the courts through this latest maneuver, one that we believe will also result in failure. It is unfortunate that Loeb feels the need to keep himself linked to Vergara, who is happily married, by taking up more of our overburdened courts resources, preventing judges from focusing on real legal problems. If it is really a family that Loeb wants, he should hire a surrogate and an egg donor and create one without dragging Vergara through another unnecessary legal battle,” the statement continues.

Loeb, 41, initially sued Vergara, 44, in 2013 over the embryos they created when they were together. He wrote of his stance last year in a New York Times op-ed, detailing his plan to become a single father.

“If she did not wish to share custody, I would take on full parenting responsibilities and agree to have her declared an egg donor,” Loeb wrote then.

The actress has said Loeb’s filing has no basis.

“I don’t want to allow this person to take more advantage of my career and try to promote himself and get press for this,” she told Good Morning America last year.

Last year, Loeb claimed that Vergara wanted to destroy the embryos. However, an attorney for the Modern Family actress disputed the claim, noting that Vergara has maintained that the embryos be kept frozen.

“A kid needs parents,” Vergara told Howard Stern in an interview last year. “I wouldn’t imagine anyone saying that it’s sane to bring [into] the world kids that are already set up [with] everything wrong for them. It would be so selfish.”

Vergara has cited a November 2013 agreement the former couple signed, which states that neither would use the embryos without the consent of the other. However, the new alleged lawsuit states that the contract should be voided because it violated Louisiana law and California code, according to Page Six.

The alleged filing also details a text exchange between Vergara and Loeb after they split in 2014 in which Loeb reportedly wrote, “We still have those 2 frozen babys.”

Vergara, who has an adult son, Manolo, wed actor Joe Manganiello in November 2015. Before her wedding, she told Stern the legal drama had no impact on her new relationship.

“We try not to even talk about it,” she said.

This article originally appeared on People.com