Image Source: Baptist Health
The strange story about a German man, Demetrius Soupolos, who supposedly sued his neighbor, Frank Maus, after 72 failed attempts to make his wife pregnant, is mostly an urban legend. Even though it’s popular on social media, there are no reliable news reports about it, and it seems to be a made-up story that keeps getting shared as real.
A wildly odd court case previously interested Germany one involving a 29-year-old man by the name of Soupolos, who sued his neighbor Maus for not living up to a strange pact.
Soupolos learned that he was not fertile and could not get his wife, Traute, pregnant. He wanted very badly to become a father and made a secret arrangement with his neighbor, Maus, who possessed a muscular physique and excellent health. As a payment for his assistance, Soupolos provided Maus with approximately $2,000 to make his wife pregnant. The arrangement was simple in conception Maus would go to the couple's residence three nights a week to perform the agreement.
For six months, Maus stuck to the agreement. During that duration, he made 72 attempts, but Traute never got pregnant. Disappointed with the failure, Soupolos grew suspicious that something was amiss. He insisted that Maus be subject to a medical checkup to determine the cause.
The results of the checkup were entirely unexpected — Maus turned out to be sterile too, something he had no idea about. The news created even more upheaval when Maus's own wife admitted that the couple's two children were not his biological children. The revelation destroyed both families and made the whole affair a local scandal.
Being cheated and duped, Soupolos sued Maus for breach of contract, alleging that he had paid for a service never rendered. Maus, however, defended himself, saying that he never promised guaranteed conception — only that he would make what he called an “honest effort.”
The unusual lawsuit quickly became a hot topic across Europe, raising questions about morality, legal responsibility, and human desperation. Even though the ultimate decision on the case was never published, it is still one of the most widely discussed cases of ridiculous contracts in recent history a tale which still shocks people today.
