Larry Birkhead vs. Anna Nicole

Larry Birkhead claims he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's newborn daughter and he is willing to go to court to prove it.  Larry Birkhead filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday, demanding that Smith return to the U.S. with newborn daughter Dannielynn Hope and submit the baby to a paternity test Us Weekly is reporting.

Larry Birkhead vs. Anna Nicole (Image: x17)

Showdown time - Larry Birkhead vs. Anna Nicole.

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In a statement released by Birkhead's high-powered attorney Debra Opri, Birkhead is asking for legal and physical custody of the little girl, born September 7th.

According to the statement, Birkhead is "a first time father and he is responding to allegations made by attorney Howard K. Stern on behalf of Anna Nicole Smith" and "believes beyond any doubt that he is the father."

Smith's lawyer Howard K. Stern announced last week on CNN's "Larry King Live" that he was the father of the child and that he and Anna Nicole had been in a relationship for some time.

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Birkhead appeared live on MSNBC with host Rita Crosby and declared, once again, that he is the father of the little girl, reports TMZ.

He told Cosby that he is "outraged and angry" and claims that Anna Nicole deliberately fled to the Bahamas to avoid custody and visitation discussions. Cosby also asked Birkhead about unsubstantiated claims that Anna Nicole was pregnant once before with a child of Birkhead's but then miscarried, but Birkhead refused to comment on that charge.

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For the record Stern announced on Larry King Live last Wednesday that he is the father of Smith's baby. The following day, the couple exchanged vows in a non-binding commitment ceremony in the Bahamas.

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--Lynda Johnson writes from Hollywood