Oregon keeps gestational surrogacy parentage cases confidential

People bringing a case for a remedial contempt sanction must file a complaint, a sworn statement, and a request for the accused person to appear. This applies to cases seeking a remedial sanction, which is meant to make someone comply with a court order or fix the contempt. The court may dismiss the case if the person bringing it has not shown an initial case for contempt. Before imposing a remedy, the court must offer a judge run hearing; the accused person may waive the hearing in a filed agreement. The accused person may, but is not required to, file a response within 21 days after being served.

Courts may consider a default ruling when a person accused of remedial contempt does not attend the scheduled hearing. This applies when the accused person does not appear for a hearing in a case seeking a remedial contempt sanction. The person bringing the case may seek a default ruling, and the court may address the request at the hearing. The court may find contempt or order relief only if it finds that the evidence meets the burden of proof. The court may not impose confinement through this default procedure.

A contempt case may be brought in certain Oregon circuit courts based on the court order, where the alleged violation happened, or where the accused person lives. This applies to cases seeking either remedial or punitive contempt sanctions. These location rules do not apply to contempt cases covered by ORS 107.728. In a punitive contempt case, the accused person waives an objection to the place of trial unless they object using the required procedures. The accused person’s residence is measured when the case begins.

Parentage cases involving children born through gestational surrogacy are confidential and generally cannot be disclosed to the public. This covers parentage cases for children born through assisted reproduction under a gestational surrogacy agreement. The case may be disclosed to a party, the child, their lawyer, or the court, or under a court order for good cause. For a case started before September 29, 2025, a party must ask the court to make it confidential. The confidentiality rule applies to cases started on or after September 29, 2025. For earlier cases, it applies if a party asks the court to make the case confidential.