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“Gossip Girl” Kelly Rutherford has been granted temporary sole custody of her two children following a long court battle. Actress Kelly Rutherford attends the launch party of the "Baby Bundle" app, a paediatrician-backed parenting app, in New York April 7, 2014. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

“Gossip Girl” actress Kelly Rutherford has been granted temporary sole custody of her two children following a long court battle. Rutherford, who played Lily van der Woodsen in “Gossip Girl,” has been fighting for custody of her children since 2012, when a court ruled that the children could stay with Rutherford's ex-husband in Europe despite the fact that they shared joint custody.

Rutherford was engaged in a prolonged dispute that also sparked an online petition. But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas has now ruled that her children -- son Hermes, 8, and daughter Helena, 5 -- should be brought back to the United States from Monaco. The kids were staying with there with biological father Daniel Giersch.

"We are ecstatic, and hopeful that Monaco will respect the California court's ruling and send the children home. It has long been our position that Monaco has no jurisdiction because Hermes and Helena, as American citizens, have an absolute right to live in their own country," Kelly’s lawyer Wendy Murphy told People.

"If the citizenship shoe were on the other foot and these children were citizens of Monaco, I have no doubt the United States would respect their right to reside in Monaco,” Murphy added. Rutherford married Giersch in August 2006 but separated in December 2008. The couple were divorced in July 2010. The drama about children's custody started when she traveled to see her children in France. Her ex-husband did not allow her to see her kids claiming that she “refuses to turn over the children's passports.”

Murphy also revealed that “Monaco has no jurisdiction because Hermes and Helena, as American citizens, have an absolute right to live in their own country.” He also added that “sending the children back to America is the right thing to do.”

The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for June 15. The actress also filed for bankruptcy in 2013 saying that she spent huge amount on her divorce and legal custody battle of her kids. Rutherford worked in "Gossip Girl" between 2007 and 2012.