In court, lawyers for 'Bachelor' star question Scottsdale woman's pregnancy claim
Attorneys for former "Bachelor" star Clayton Echard on Wednesday challenged the pregnancy and miscarriage timeline of a Scottsdale woman who asserted she was carrying Echard's twins, demanded child support and then said she was no longer pregnant.
During a hearing in a Phoenix courtroom, Laura Owens' attorney told Judge Julie Mata that Owens had miscarried the pregnancy before mid-November.
"I believe my client went to the doctor in mid-November, and that's when it was determined that she had had a miscarriage," said Cory Keith. "We would believe that it was in the, maybe, month, or two months, leading up to that time."
Gregg Woodnick, Echard's attorney, questioned the chronology presented by Keith.
"The statement of counsel was just that the mother says she had a miscarriage two months before November," Woodnick said. "In November, the parties appeared in front of Judge Gialketsis where mother had a pregnant belly and told Judge Gialketsis that she was 100% pregnant by my client."
If there is a timeline discrepancy and Owens was lying at the previous hearing, Woodnick said, then Mata should consider that when deciding on sanctions and attorney fees.
Both parties agreed to allow Mata to review video of the November hearing.
Owens, who described herself in court records as being a podcast host and in horse sales, filed a petition for a court order of paternity seeking child support from Echard in Maricopa County Superior Court in August.
Echard, a Scottsdale-based real estate agent, personal training coach and former star of "The Bachelor," responded by denying paternity. In court filings, he said he and Owens had oral sex, but "that was all."
Owens subsequently filed a motion to dismiss the petition to establish paternity, saying she was "no longer pregnant."
While Mata has agreed to dismiss the paternity petition, both sides are still seeking attorney fees, and Echard is seeking sanctions against Owens. Echard claims Owens' paternity lawsuit was filed as a form of harassment.
On Wednesday, Mata ordered the disclosure of all of Owens' medical records going back to August 2020, one year before her first filing.
Medical records proving the miscarriage would be provided to Echard's attorneys by the end of the week, Keith said. Records from at least four physicians would be provided, he said.
Keith also said Owens had not lied in front of Gialketsis during the earlier hearing.
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"The reality is, sometimes people have miscarriages, and they don't know that they miscarried," said Keith, who was not present for the previous hearing. "I'm not saying that is the circumstance here."
Owens' testimony in an upcoming deposition and eventual trial, as well as expert testimony, would clarify the timeline, Keith said.
"I am saying that my client has not lied in this case. She has not intentionally lied to the court," Keith said. "Whether or not she was pregnant on that date — I think she could have testified that she was pregnant, and she could have had a miscarriage days prior. I don't know."
Owens has a pattern of falsely claiming to be pregnant, said Isabel Ranney, an attorney for Echard, in an interview after the hearing.
"The premise of our motion for sanctions is that this was all a fraud," Ranney said.
Owens, in 2021, filed a lawsuit alleging abortion coercion and intentional infliction of emotional distress against a Scottsdale man named Gregory Gillespie. Owens' claims were not successful. Gillespie was in court for Wednesday's hearing but declined an interview request.
Keith did not respond to a request for an interview Wednesday.
An evidentiary hearing scheduled for Feb. 27 was canceled. Echard's attorneys are scheduled to depose Owens on March 1. A trial is set for June 10.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: In Arizona court, lawyers for 'Bachelor' star question pregnancy claim
