Kelly Rutherford has just suffered a major setback in her fight for custody of her children, son Hermes, 8, and daughter Helena, 6.

On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas ruled that the Gossip Girl actress does not have the right to fight for custody of her children in California -- and there's basically no recourse for her. Wow ...

The judge wrote, “If these children have any connection to California, it is tenuous at best.”

After the ruling, Rutherford's attorney David J. Glass told Us Weekly, "We are extremely disappointed with the ruling. Although the Court agreed with our analysis of the law, and in fact agreed with our position that citizens can have more than residence for jurisdictional purposes, the Court ultimately did not agree with us on the facts."

Rutherford’s ex-husband Daniel Giersch lives in Monaco, and a judge there previously ruled that the German businessman should have full custody.

Rutherford and Giersch have been battling over their children for six years. The children have been residing with Giersch in Monaco for the past three years. In December 2013 a judge decided that the businessman no longer had to pay for his children to visit their mother in the United States.

After being unable to see her children, Rutherford has been able to send the summer with her children in NYC after a California judge granted the mom temporary sole custody in May.

After such a joyful reunion, we're sad to see such a sad turn of events ...