MANHATTAN — For the second time in three months, a Johnson & Johnson heiress has lost custody of an adopted child.
The New York State Court of Appeals has overturned the adoption of a Cambodian boy by Johnson & Johnson heiress Elizabeth "Libet" Johnson who has fought for custody of the child with her ex-boyfriend for several years, according to the Associated Press.
Johnson adopted the orphaned boy with her boyfriend Lionel Bissoon back in 2003, but has been fighting for custody of the child since her relationship with the self-proclaimed celebrity diet guru went sour a year later.
Johnson is the sister of Jets owner Woody Johnson. Libet Johnson is also the aunt of Casey Johnson, Woody's 30-year-old daughter, who died suddenly in January.
Casey Johnson, who struggled with drugs and alcohol, lost custody of her adopted daughter Ava in December. She had a public falling out with Libet Johnson in 2006, claiming her aunt tried to steal her boyfriend John Dee.
Despite Tuesday's ruling, Libet Johnson's lawyer Richard A. Greenberg says they have several options moving forward, including taking the international case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the AP reported.
The court's unanimous decision upholds lower courts that invalidated Johnson's adoption order in New York state in 2007. The ban was deemed illegal because of a U.S. ban on adoptions from Cambodia.
The presiding judge in the 2007 ruling gave custody of the 7-year-old boy to Bissoon, although the child was allowed to continue living with Johnson while she appealed the adoption decision, according to New York magazine.
Bissoon, 42, has no plans to remove the child from Johnson's home, although Tuesday's ruling gives him the legal right to do so.