Clayton Echard has been named in a lawsuit by a pregnant former fling, who claimed that he fathered her unborn babies — but filing a countersuit could prove tricky.
“Anyone can sue for anything, but it’s not going to be a good case because really what are your damages?” attorney Neama Rahmani, who is not affiliated with the case, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 26, when asked if Echard, 30, had merit to ask for damages if he’s not the father. “You have to submit to a paternity test.”
He continued: “As long as there’s some basis to believe that he may be the father, if it’s not completely frivolous or malicious to embarrass him, she thought that there’s a good chance that this is the father. She had a good-faith reason for asking the judge to order the paternity test. No judge is going to allow that type of [countersuit] to move forward.”
The former Bachelor was named in a lawsuit in August, where he was accused of getting the petitioner pregnant after a one-night stand. The 33-year-old woman requested that Echard take a paternity test before her twin babies’ February due date. Echard has since denied having “sexual intercourse” or any relationship with the woman, telling The Sun earlier this month that the claims are “baseless” and “lacking in merit.”
The woman, who filed the lawsuit anonymously, further alleged that Echard had refused to provide a sample for genetic testing.
“A court can force someone to take a paternity test and it’s a DNA test. Usually, it’s a cotton swab if there’s some sort of credible allegation that there [was] sexual contact,” Rahmani clarified to Us about the process. “Unless Clayton is saying, ‘Listen, I don’t know who this woman is, I never had any sexual relationship with her.’ But if there’s evidence that that relationship occurred or if Clayton isn’t disputing it, he will have to give a paternity test. Judges in courts order them routinely.”
Echard has since claimed that he is willing to submit to a paternity test ahead of the parties’ court hearing.
“This is the timeline. The truth will always set you free,” he wrote via Instagram Story on September 21, sharing a screenshot of an email receipt from a DNA testing company.
In the email, Echard received a receipt for the $725 test and noted he planned to take it on Wednesday, September 27. The results take a week to process, and then his former partner would take “her portion” of the test on Monday, October 2.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
