District Court Judge Anne Salisbury said in a 17-page order that Quets' suit was based on weak legal theories and flimsy facts and has caused an undue burden on Kevin and Denise Needham, the adoptive parents of Holly and Tyler. Salisbury ordered Quets to pay the Needhams' legal fees.

Quets filed the suit in November seeking visitation rights that had been ended by a Florida court. Salisbury dismissed the suit in January.

The ruling made available today addressed a motion by the Needhams for sanctions against Quets and her lawyer. Salisbury penalized Quets, but not her lawyer, Mike Harrell.

Quets' suit "serves to cause needless increases in the cost of litigation for the [Needhams]," Salisbury said. "She was fully aware of the financial burden of prolonged litigation."

Quets has been in a bitter custody dispute with the Apex couple, filing a series of legal challenges in Florida and North Carolina to try to win the twins back.

In 2004, Quets became pregnant through in vitro fertilization. After a difficult pregnancy, she signed papers giving custody to the Needhams. Hours later she wanted the children back, claiming she signed under duress.

A legal battle began, and Quets, a former systems engineer, was still allowed to visit the twins.

She quit her job in December 2006 and during a visitation, she fled with the children to a bed-and- breakfast in Canada. She was arrested and charged with international parental kidnapping and second-degree kidnapping. She spent eight months in a Franklin County jail, awaiting trial.

She was set free in December after a judge sentenced her to five years' probation. A month later, Salisbury blocked Quets' attempt at visitation. Quets has appealed Salisbury's ruling on visitation rights.