Judge rules against "Octo-Mom" on child finances

California Octuplets mom Nadya Suleman has a new Web site (www.thenadyasulemanfamily.com) shown in this screenshot taken on February 11, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Friday ruled that an advocacy group for child actors can seek to have a guardian appointed to oversee the financial interests for the octuplets of Nadya Suleman, dubbed "Octo-Mom," in connection with a television show about the family.

Judge Gerald Johnston ruled that California law allows former child actor Paul Petersen, president of the group A Minor Consideration, to make the financial guardianship petition, even if he has no direct relation to the children.

An attorney for Suleman had asked for Petersen's petition to be dismissed, but the Superior Court judge from Orange County, an area near Los Angeles, denied the request.

Johnston said social workers will need to investigate and make a recommendation on Petersen's petition by October 29. Petersen is represented by celebrity attorney Gloria Allred.

Suleman, 33, gave birth to six boys and two girls in Los Angeles in January after becoming pregnant through in vitro fertilization when she already had six children. The tabloid press dubbed her "Octo-Mom," a nickname she subsequently adopted and sought to trademark.

The Fox network on Wednesday broadcast a two-hour special on Suleman's life with her children, and Suleman has signed a deal with production company Eyeworks for a reality TV show.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Mohammad Zargham)