Sofia Vergara Ordered to Pay Ex Nearly $80K Amid Frozen Embryo Battle

Sofia Vergara has been ordered to pay her ex-fiancé, Nicholas Loeb, nearly $80,000 in relation to the former couple's ongoing frozen embryo battle.

But if it were up to Loeb, the actress would be paying him well over $120,000.

According to court docs, a Los Angeles judge ruled Friday that Vergara owes Loeb $76,433 in attorney's fees and an additional $2,959.26 in legal costs -- a payment totaling $79,392.26 that is expected to be made within 30 days of the ruling.

That lump sum is 35 percent less than what Loeb sought when he filed a motion in June of this year, asking that his ex pay him $117,590.87 in attorney's fees and $2,958.26 in legal costs.

The legal bill stemmed from Vergara's unsuccessful attempt to sue her ex for malicious prosecution; she had accused him of filing a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation), an outlawed legal strategy of burdening opponents with relentless legal costs until they give up.

A judge threw out the case and ordered Vergara to pay Loeb's legal costs; he came back with the $120,000 figure.

However, Vergara's legal team rejected the high cost of the bill, questioning the work done by each member of Loeb's team and their level of knowledge, claiming that, if anything, the bill should be only $24,000. In response, Loeb provided a list of who did what.

In its ruling Tuesday, the court determined Loeb's billing records were a little high, decreeing that he could not fully justify the $120,000 bill. However, it refused to dismiss his claim entirely or reduce it to one-fifth, as Vergara's team sought, before finally settling on the 35 percent reduction.

Vergara and Loeb broke off their engagement and ended their relationship in 2014.

During their time together, however, the two discussed the possibility of having children via in-vitro fertilization and a third-party surrogate. In 2013, the couple visited the ART Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills to undergo the IVF process. Prior to beginning the procedure, they both signed an agreement that stated -- among other things -- that one person could not use the frozen embryos to create a child without the explicit written consent of the other.

With ART's help, Vergara and Loeb were able to create two pre-embryos that survived to viability. The embryos were then placed in cryogenic storage at ART's facilities, where they remain today.

After Vergara and Loeb called it quits, he sought to obtain full custody of the embryos and bring them to term. However, the actress claimed that would violate their agreement. The initial filing, dubbed the Santa Monica Action, was dismissed by Loeb. The two have continued to be in a legal battle over other aspects of the case.

Vergara has a son from her previous relationship with Joe Gonzalez and is now married to Joe Manganiello.

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