Judge Sides With ‘Gossip Girl' Star On Custody Issue

A Los Angeles court judge has granted “Gossip Girl” star Kelly Rutherford permission to take her son to New York until March, Access Hollywood has learned.

Rutherford and her estranged husband, Daniel Giersch, were in court on Friday, arguing over custody arrangements for their 2-year-old son, Hermes.

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Rutherford, who is pregnant with her second child with Giersch, whom she is divorcing, had asked the court for permission to take child with her as she films the new season of “Gossip Girl.”

Giersch had asked the judge to deny Rutherford’s request, claiming he needed to stay in Los Angeles for his business, and the child should stay in the city too.

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Judge Michael Levanas said that leaving the 2-year-old in Los Angeles with Giersch would be separating the child from his mother “cold turkey,” and would harmful to his wellbeing, according to People.

As he made his ruling the judge reportedly said he considered, “the plan least likely to cause trauma to [Hermes].” If Rutherford went to New York without her son, “the minor would have his first multiple nights away [from his mom].”

Though the judge sided with Rutherford, he praised both parties.

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“I can’t find fault with either of you.” Judge Levanas said in court – even singling out Giersch’s persistence. “I applaud you [for your efforts in this case]. I want you to see [Hermes] every single day in New York.”

Though court papers painted a rocky relationship between the divorcing couple, they both reportedly remained calm and collected during the court proceedings.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Rutherford separated with her husband on December 18, and filed for divorce days later.

Rutherford claims she has called the police on her husband twice, once in New York and once in Los Angeles, because she was “frightened” by Giersch. Rutherford also said in her declaration to the court that she once threw a laptop at her husband during a trip to Germany.

“[He] came at me and I ran. [Giersch] is an avid boxer and a kickboxer, and I am intimidated by him,” she said in her statement.

Rutherford previously said her work schedule is not as stressful, as Giersch claimed in his January 9, 2009 court filing.

She said she works two to three days a week on “Gossip Girl,” but on some weeks not at all. Rutherford also claims to have turned down work opportunities to spend time with Hermes. She also said that due to a judge’s ruling at the start of the year, which stopped her from taking Hermes to New York for the filming of “Gossip Girl,” she did not return to work when she was supposed to because she believed “it would be detrimental to Hermes, who is still nursing, and who has never spent the night without me (we co-sleep), to leave him in Los Angeles,” her statement read.

The actress also claimed her husband has never spent a night alone with their child and that he has left her alone on two occasions where he did not tell her “where he was going with no notice that he was going to leave.”

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