Paternity test for Smith’s baby put on hold

Judge temporarily blocks test pending a Feb. 7 hearing

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updated 9:44 a.m. ET Jan. 24, 2007

LOS ANGELES - A judge in the Anna Nicole Smith baby dispute temporarily blocked an order forcing her daughter to undergo paternity testing, an attorney said.

A Tuesday deadline had been set for the test sought by Larry Birkhead, who claims he is the father of Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. She was born Sept. 7 in the Bahamas.

Ronald A. Rale, an attorney for the 39-year-old former Playboy playmate, questioned the legality of the test, saying Bahamian authorities needed to grant work permits before an American doctor could conduct the test.

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The judge granted a stay pending a Feb. 7 hearing, Rale said.

Birkhead's attorney, Debra Opri, called Rale's request "a delay tactic."

She claimed the test was scheduled between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday but Smith never showed up.

Birkhead sued in October to get a paternity test.

Smith's longtime personal lawyer, Howard K. Stern, maintains he is the baby's father.