Larry Birkhead can finally get while the getting's good.
A Bahamian court on Friday smacked down Virgie Arthur's last-ditch attempt to keep Birkhead from leaving the island nation with daughter Dannielynn.
Arthur, the estranged mother of Anna Nicole Smith, who has been attempted to get some custody or visitation rights for her granddaughter, filed an emergency appeal Thursday seeking to block an earlier ruling paving the way for Birkhead to return to the U.S. with the seven-month-old. She argued that once Birkhead left the country, he wouldn't return for a final custody hearing on June 8.
The three-judge panel was skeptical of Arthur's legal maneuver, with one justice calling her case "weak."
"I am perplexed why this matter is before us," the judge said, per Access Hollywood, before asking that Arthur's lawyer "descend from theory to reality."
The judges agreed that the case would likely be resolved in a U.S. courtroom.
The panel also ordered Arthur to pay $3,000 in court fees for essentially wasting everyone's time.
"It was an expensive day for her...in that sense I guess I got a divorce from Virgie and the child I didn't know we had together," Birkhead said afterward, describing Arthur's arguments as "nonsense."
The Los Angeles-based photographer also disputed Arthur's contention that he wouldn't return for the June court date.
"I don't know where she got that from. Maybe that's why they made her pay money. There was no foundation for her to say that; I've always indicated that I would come back so that wasn't necessary."
Arthur left the Nassau courthouse without speaking to reporters.
Smith's former companion and Birkhead's thwarted paternity rival, Howard K. Stern, also attended Friday's hearing.
"I'm going to help Larry out in any way I can, and if it take years in the United States, I'll do it. I'm hopeful that that won't happen though," Stern said.
Asked if he would visit Dannielynn in the future, Stern replied: "If Larry let's me."
DNA tests showed that Birkhead, 34, fathered the child with Smith, who died in February of an accidental overdose. Dannielynn was born Sept. 7; three days later Smith's 20-year-old son from a previous marriage, Daniel, died while visiting his mother and sister in the hospital.
Later Friday, Birkhead obtained an amended birth certificate for Dannielynn, listing himself, not Stern, as the father. The new birth certificate allows him to apply for an expedited passport for the child.
However, Birkhead was unable to get passport by close of business Friday, meaning the earliest he and Dannielynn can leave is Monday.