Kelly Rutherford Ordered To Appear In Court On Tuesday With Children

Kelly Rutherford, after defying a court order by not returning her children to their father over the weekend, has been ordered to appear in court on Tuesday. A New York judge also ordered the Gossip Girl star to bring her kids.

According to TMZ, the judge ordered the actress and her kids to appear in court at the request of Daniel Giersch.

As the Inquisitr previously reported, Kelly Rutherford’s ex-husband issued a statement through his attorney, Fahi Takesh Hallin, immediately upon learning his ex-wife would not be returning the children after their scheduled visitation. According to Giersch, Rutherford’s failure to return the couple’s children to Monaco last week amounts to child kidnapping.

“Unfortunately Kelly has now added child abduction to extortion and false statements on her list of actions. Daniel will make sure that the children’s safety and well-being will be restored as soon as possible. Kelly was to have delivered the children in France to their father on August 7, 2015. Child abduction is a crime, and everyone involved in kidnapping or abducting the children will face the appropriate legal consequences.”

Rutherford was reportedly sent a letter Sunday night from her ex’s legal team demanding she return the children to their father immediately. According to ABC News, attorneys for Giersch planned to file the necessary documents with the New York County Supreme Court this morning to ensure the children’s return to Monaco.

The couple’s children, Hermes, 8, and Helena, 6, spent the summer with their mother in the United States. Although Kelly Rutherford was to return the kids to their father on August 7, she failed to do so. In a statement sent to various media outlets, including US Weekly, the Gossip Girl says she was not returning her children to their father due to confusion, as both California and New York courts have stated they do not have jurisdiction over the children. If neither state has jurisdiction, Rutherford argues, then neither state can order her to return the children.

“In May, a judge in California gave me sole custody and brought them home. I am immensely grateful and overjoyed to have them back. Since May, however, the court proceedings have been confusing. My ex-husband recently filed for sole custody in Monaco after causing my children to be declared ‘habitual residents’ there, even though he agreed in 2012 that the children’s time in France and Monaco would be temporary. I trusted my ex-husband’s agreement, and cannot now send them away in light of the legal actions taken in Monaco in violation of that agreement.”

Kelly Rutherford and Daniel Giersch have been locked in a custody battle since their split in 2010.

TMZ reports the actress was to be notified by 3 p.m. today of Tuesday’s hearing.

[Image by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]