The Fertility Center of Orlando, a Longwood, Florida IVF clinic run by Dr. Milton McNichol, is the defendant in at least three lawsuits: a widely reported embryo mix-up that led a white couple to give birth to a child who is 100 percent South Asian, a separate case alleging the clinic used a mentally ill woman as a surrogate without valid consent, and an earlier suit over destroyed frozen sperm that settled in January 2026. The clinic’s parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2024, the Florida Board of Medicine reprimanded Dr. McNichol in 2024, and the facility officially ceased operations on May 20, 2026, directing patients to transfer stored embryos and sperm to CNY Fertility at the same address.
The Embryo Mix-Up Case
Tiffany Score and Steven Mills produced and stored three embryos at the clinic. In April 2025, Score was implanted with what staff said was one of their embryos, and their daughter Shea was born on December 11, 2025.1People. Couple in IVF Mixup Have 1 Embryo Left but Uncertain It’s Theirs The baby did not resemble either parent, and DNA testing confirmed she was not biologically related to them. The implanted embryo belonged to a different couple identified in filings only as “Patient 004.”2NBC News. Florida Couple in IVF Embryo Mix-Up Will Keep Baby Not Genetically Theirs
Of the couple’s three original embryos, one produced Shea, one ended in miscarriage, and one is unaccounted for. The clinic said it still held one frozen embryo belonging to the couple, but Score and Mills questioned whether it was actually theirs and had it moved to another facility for parentage testing.1People. Couple in IVF Mixup Have 1 Embryo Left but Uncertain It’s Theirs
After the clinic failed to respond to a January 5, 2026 demand letter calling the implantation an “inexcusable error,” attorney Jack Scarola filed a Verified Complaint for Emergency Injunctive Relief on January 9, 2026.3Coastal ABC. Score-Mills Verified Complaint for Emergency Injunctive Relief4Global News. Tiffany Score Steven Mills Fertility Lawsuit Filing The complaint asks the court to force the clinic to notify other patients who had embryos in storage at the relevant time, pay for DNA testing of patients and children from the preceding five years, disclose any known mismatches, and provide an audited accounting of the couple’s three embryos. The couple’s lawyers have signaled that laboratory errors of this type may let them pursue claims outside Florida’s stricter medical malpractice framework, and the case remains open as of June 2026 with room to add claims and defendants.5Click Orlando. Custody Agreement Reached for Florida Baby at Center of IVF Mix-Up
The clinic eventually identified 16 sets of potential biological parents whose treatment overlapped with the couple’s timeline, and DNA testing in April 2026 confirmed one South Asian couple as Shea’s genetic parents.6NBC News. Florida Biological Parents of Baby in IVF Embryo Mix-Up Identified A June 12, 2026 court filing formalized a private custody agreement giving Score and Mills permanent legal custody of Shea.7USA Today. Florida IVF Mix-Up Case Custody Agreement Court filings note that the defendants have not disputed the central fact that the child “should be, but is not, the genetic child” of the couple.2NBC News. Florida Couple in IVF Embryo Mix-Up Will Keep Baby Not Genetically Theirs The whereabouts of the couple’s own embryos are still unknown, and nothing suggests they resulted in a child born to anyone else.
The “Jane Doe” Surrogacy Lawsuit
A separate 72-page complaint filed on March 19, 2026 in Seminole County Circuit Court (Case No. 2026CA000634) alleges that the clinic transferred an embryo into a woman identified as “Jane Doe” without a proper psychological screening. The suit names the Fertility Center of Orlando, IVF Life Inc., IVF Orlando Inc., Dr. McNichol, and two pseudonymous intended parents.8CBS 12. Jane Doe v. Fertility Center of Orlando Complaint
According to the complaint, Doe had a documented history of serious mental illness going back to 2014, including multiple involuntary commitments under Florida’s Baker Act and diagnoses of bipolar disorder, conduct disorders, depressive disorders, and alcohol abuse. The clinic allegedly never requested her psychiatric records or asked about her mental health before the October 2024 embryo transfer.9CNY Central. New Lawsuit Alleges Florida Fertility Clinic Used Woman as Surrogate Without Consent The embryo carried thanatophoric dysplasia, a fatal genetic condition, and the complaint alleges genetic testing was either not performed or not adequately reviewed. The child died about 10 days after birth.10Click Orlando. Longwood Fertility Clinic Faced Discipline, Bankruptcy, Lawsuits Before Closure Doe herself was Baker Acted for suicidal thoughts roughly 10 weeks into the pregnancy.8CBS 12. Jane Doe v. Fertility Center of Orlando Complaint
The complaint further alleges that the intended parents promised Doe more than $22,000 in costs and fees but paid only about $5,390, and that Dr. McNichol wrote prescriptions for the surrogate under the intended mother’s name. The claims include negligence, medical malpractice, battery for performing the embryo transfer without valid informed consent, and exploitation of a vulnerable adult under Florida’s Adult Protective Services Act.11WCYB. New Lawsuit Alleges Florida Fertility Clinic Used Woman as Surrogate Without Consent
The Destroyed Sperm Case
A Seminole County man sued the clinic earlier, alleging it damaged or destroyed frozen sperm specimens he had stored before cancer treatment. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement in January 2026, with payment due by April 1, 2026.10Click Orlando. Longwood Fertility Clinic Faced Discipline, Bankruptcy, Lawsuits Before Closure
Regulatory Discipline Against Dr. McNichol
A 2023 Florida Department of Health inspection found that the clinic’s equipment did not meet current performance standards and that the facility lacked lidocaine, a medication used in cardiac emergencies.12NBC News. IVF Clinic Accused of Embryo Mix-Up Closes Amid Legal, Financial Problems13Florida Department of Health. Milton W. McNichol Enforcement Actions10Click Orlando. Longwood Fertility Clinic Faced Discipline, Bankruptcy, Lawsuits Before Closure
In December 2025, the New York State Department of Health issued its own censure and reprimand based on the Florida findings and ordered Dr. McNichol to complete continuing education directed by the Office of Professional Medical Conduct. He did not contest the underlying allegations.14New York State Department of Health. Milton W. McNichol Disciplinary Action Neither Dr. McNichol nor the clinic’s attorneys have responded to media requests for comment on the pending lawsuits.
Closure, Bankruptcy, and What Former Patients Should Do
The clinic’s corporate entity, IVF Orlando, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 8, 2024 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida (Case No. 6:24-bk-05475-TPG). A reorganization plan was confirmed on September 23, 2025.15GovInfo. IVF Orlando Inc. Bankruptcy Case, Memorandum Opinion16Fox 35 Orlando. Orlando Fertility Clinic Sued Over IVF Mix-Up Closes Operations17Fertility Center of Orlando. About the Fertility Center of Orlando At a March 30 court hearing, the clinic’s attorney said the facility was changing ownership on May 1, 2026, and that the incoming operators would “not be accepting any liabilities of IVF Life.”18WESH. Central Florida IVF Clinic Closes Following Lawsuits
Patients were directed to CNY Fertility, which has opened at the same Longwood address and is storing specimens on behalf of former patients. The clinic told patients they had until April 15, 2026 to either transfer their cryopreserved material to CNY Fertility or arrange shipment to another licensed facility. Written consent is required before any specimens can be moved, donated, or disposed of, and storage invoices now go through a platform called Embryo Options. Patients with overdue storage balances owed to the Fertility Center of Orlando must settle those balances before specimens will be released.17Fertility Center of Orlando. About the Fertility Center of Orlando
Attorney Andrew Rader, who represents clients suing the clinic, said the transition could be a “change in name only” and questioned whether patients had received adequate communication about the safety of their stored biological material.19Click Orlando. Longwood Fertility Clinic Closes After Woman Gives Birth to Wrong Baby The embryo mix-up litigation has also triggered a court-ordered investigation into the clinic’s recordkeeping and embryo handling.20CBS 12. New Lawsuit Alleges Florida Fertility Clinic Used Woman as Surrogate Without Consent Former patients who believe they may have been affected by a mislabeled embryo or who want independent parentage testing can contact a Florida attorney handling reproductive negligence cases; the Score-Mills suit is actively seeking expanded disclosures and testing for other patients from the past five years.