Kelly Rutherford can't fight for her children in California.
Kelly Rutherford
The 46-year-old actress - who has been locked in a custody dispute with ex-husband Daniel Giersch since 2012 - has undertaken a number of hearings in Los Angeles in her bid to regain custody of son Hermes, eight, and six-year-old daughter Helena, but a judge ruled today (23.07.15) that the state does not have jurisdiction over the case, meaning the 'Gossip Girl' star must now take her battle elsewhere.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas wrote in court papers: "The Court does not believe that it is obligated to relinquish jurisdiction to Monaco, only that it acknowledge that it no longer has jurisdiction over the children."
Kelly - who has custody of the children over the summer but makes frequent trips to Monaco, where they usually live with their father - had argued the case should continue in California because she resides there part time, despite being mostly based in New York.
But the judge ruled: "Given the fact that the children have only spent approximately one week in California in over two years, if these children have any connection to California, it is tenuous at best."
The actress - who has travelled back and forth to Europe more than 70 times since the kids moved after their father's US visa was revoked - is "extremely disappointed" by the ruling.
Her attorney, David J. Glass, said in a statement: "We are extremely disappointed.
"This court set up the current situation whereby my client was forced to live bi-coastally, but now, the court appears to be holding it against her. Likewise, the court created the situation whereby the children would lose their connections to California, and despite the Judgment's language precluding the passage of time from creating new jurisdiction, that is exactly what has happened."
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