Anna could still claim £450m

Former Playboy Anna Nicole Smith has won the right to battle it out for the £450million she claims her late husband promised her.

The US Supreme Court overturned an appeal court ruling that the former topless dancer was entitled to nothing.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the 38-year-old should now pursue her claims in a federal court.

Smith was 26 when she married oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, then 89, in 1994. They met three years earlier when she was dancing in a bar.

Marshall was one of the wealthiest men in Texas. His death after 14 months of marriage triggered a legal battle between his son and Smith.

Smith claimed her late husband promised her half of his £900million estate. But his son, E Pierce Marshall, said £3.26million in gifts she received was all his father wanted her to have.

In Texas, a probate court ruled E Pierce Marshall was entitled to the estate. But in California, a federal bankruptcy-judge awarded £258million to Smith, also known as Vickie Marshall.

The appeals court ruled she was entitled to nothing because federal courts lack jurisdiction in probate disputes.

The new ruling, however, addressed only whether these courts had the authority to decide Smith's claims - not the merits of her arguments.

E Pierce Marshall said: 'I will continue to fight to uphold my father's estate plan and clear my name.

'That is a promise that Vickie and her lawyers can take to the bank.'