(March 17,2007)—The participants weren’t commenting Friday after a hearing in the Bahamas on the custody of the infant daughter of former model Anna Nicole Smith, the one-time Mexia waitress who went on to pose for Playboy and marry a multi-millionaire.

An ex-boyfriend of Smith’s who claims to be the father of her daughter emerged from a court hearing Friday in a "happy mood," but he and the late reality TV star's mother, who is also seeking custody of the baby girl, refused to discuss the proceedings.

Larry Birkhead, a California-based photographer who first met the 6-month-old girl last month, said he planned to stay in the Bahamas until another court appearance on Tuesday.

"It was hard for me to leave her the last time, so hopefully I'll stay put until something good happens," Birkhead said after the private hearing.

The former Playboy playmate's mother, Virgie Arthur, and her attorneys left the Superior Court building without speaking to reporters.

She wants to take the girl from Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, arguing she could provide a more stable home.

Stern, who is listed as the father on the Bahamian birth certificate, did not attend the hearing.

He has remained secluded with Dannielynn in the waterfront home where he lived with Smith.

A judge has ordered him not to move the child from the island chain until a ruling is made in the three-way custody dispute.

The court clerk's office closed near the hearing's end and nobody was available to answer questions about the proceedings.

The fight for custody of the girl, who could potentially inherit millions of dollars from her mother's estate, began after Smith died on Feb. 8 in her hotel room in Florida.

The cause of death has not been revealed and an announcement of the medical examiner’s findings was delayed after the discovery of what officials said was new evidence in the hotel room in which Smith died.

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