A US state supreme court said a lower court was right to award custody of an eight-year-old girl to her non-biological mother in a lesbian custody case.
In a ruling, the Vermont Supreme Court upheld a 2009 order giving Janet Jenkins sole custody of Isabella Miller-Jenkins.
It rejected an appeal by attorneys for biological mother Lisa Miller.
Ms Jenkins is from Vermont. Ms Miller is from Virginia.
They were joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000. Their daughter has been the subject of a long-running legal fight.
The custody ruling may be a moot point: Ms Miller has renounced her homosexuality, and she and her daughter failed to appear for a court-ordered custody swap in January. Their whereabouts are now unknown.