Sherri Shepherd Loses Court Battle: Judge Ruled Shepherd Is Legal Mother Of Baby Boy Born Via Surrogate

According to People magazine, Sherri Shepherd lost the court battle over financial responsibility for a baby boy born via a surrogate last July. A judge declared Shepherd the legal mother of the 8-month-old.

Sherri Shepherd and Lamar Sally got married in 2011. They agreed to have a baby via a surrogate, but Shepherd filed for divorce before Lamar Sally Jr. was born on July 28, 2014.

Sherri was excited at first, but then she had a drastic change of heart months into the surrogate’s pregnancy. Since the birth of the baby, the formerly married pair had been in a legal battle because Sherri changed her mind. She no longer wanted to be the baby’s mother.

Shepherd did not appear in court, but her lawyers did. They declined to comment about the outcome, but Sally and his lawyers left the courtroom believing that justice had been served.

“It’s bittersweet. I’m glad it’s over, but I feel sad what it had to come to. Now I can go back to L.A. and tend to my son.”

TMZ reported that the custody battle between Sherri Shepherd and Lamar Sally is officially over. Sherri claims she was tricked into having the child with Sally. Therefore, she felt she should have no connection to the baby or responsibility for him after their divorce. A Pennsylvania judge saw it differently and ruled that Shepherd’s name should be on the birth certificate and not the name of the surrogate.

Even though a Pennsylvania judge made a ruling that Shepherd is the legal mother, she is not being forced to raise the child. A judge ruled she has to provide for him financially. Shepherd and Sally are still required to meet with a judge in Los Angeles to work out details for child support.

E! Online reported that the judge not only ruled for Shepherd’s name to be put on the birth certificate as the mother, but the surrogate must also be compensated for expenses she incurred by being the “embryo carrier.”

Because Sherri’s eggs were not used, she maintained all along that she had no legal responsibility for the child born via the surrogate. Sally’s attorney, Tiffany Palmer, concluded after today’s ruling that the Pennsylvania court made the right decision.

“If you set out to conceive a child through assisted reproduction and enter into contracts to do so, you cannot just walk away from your legal parental responsibility because you changed your mind.”

Do you think the judge made the right decision in this case, and Sherri Shepherd should be the legal mother of the baby born via surrogate?

[Image via Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]