Anna Nicole Baby Battle Moves to Bahamas

Thu., Oct. 26, 2006 5:31 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Larry Birkhead's battle to be named father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby girl is headed south. And east.

Looking to have his name entered and Howard K. Stern bumped from Dannielynn Hope's birth certificate, the paparazzo filed a civil action Thursday in the Bahamas, charging Smith and Stern with fraud and conspiracy, Birkhead's attorney, Debra Opri, said.

Stern was listed on the document as the baby's father earlier this month, a week after Birkhead filed a paternity suit against Smith in Los Angeles, demanding that the TrimSpa spokeswoman return immediately to California with her daughter in tow to undergo DNA and drug testing.

Among other things, the photog alleged that Stern was fostering Smith's methadone addiction (he also accused her of having a methadone addiction) and was claiming to be Dannielynn's daddy purely for financial gain.

While all of his legal wrangling to date so far has occurred in L.A., Birkhead filed his latest motion in the Bahamas, where he has retained additional representation, Opri said.

The firm Alexiou, Knowles and Co. have taken up Birkhead's case and, according to Opri, Smith and Stern will have 14 days to respond to the latest allegations once they have been served with the lawsuit.

Smith's ex apparently took a cue from Smith's Bahamian attorney Wayne Munroe, who told the Associated Press Monday that Birkhead should take up his case in the islands, where Smith is now a permanent resident.

Smith's legal status in the country is a bit clouded. A prominent Bahamian politician, Hubert Ingraham, told the Associated Press Smith is not "a fit and proper person to become a permanent resident of the Bahamas." The law says a person owning a house in the Bahamas valued at more than $500,000 has to have the means to live there without being employed and must be of good character to be eligible for residency. Ingraham wants to know if Smith actually owns her home.

Earlier this week, a South Carolina-based developer came forward saying he owns the million-dollar waterfront manse where Smith has been staying and is threatening to boot Smith and Stern from the premises for failing to reimburse him. Munroe has countered the claim, saying he's seen the document proving Smith's ownership.

Smith, who has been holed up in the Atlantic island chain since her baby's birth and the death three days later of her 20-year-old son, was a no-show Monday for a scheduled deposition. The reality-TV star said she had never been properly subpoenaed.

Opri vowed to use Smith's actions against her, saying that her decision not to show opened the door for Birkhead to strike Smith's objection to the California court's jurisdiction in the paternity case.

"As you can imagine, ladies and gentlemen, the walls are closing in," Opri said Thursday at a news conference outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse. "My main concern is this child. We do not want to wake up one morning and hear that she fled the Bahamas to destinations unknown. "

Two hearings scheduled for today on Birkhead's request for a court-ordered paternity test and on Smith's jurisdiction challenge have been postponed until Monday, when a new judge will begin reviewing the matter.

Standing next to the attorney was Birkhead, who again reiterated his raison d'être for challenging Stern's parental status.

"I am the father,and I think this is a crime what these people are doing," Birkhead said. "I expect to be reunited with my daughter with the help of my attorneys."

If the paternity coin flips in Birkhead's favor, Smith may be required to grant him custody or visitation rights, or perhaps pay child support.