The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal filed by a surrogate mother who lost custody of triplets she delivered nearly three years ago to their biological father.

A lower court had ruled in April that Danielle Bimber had no standing to challenge the custody rights of James Flynn, 65. Since then, the boys have lived with Flynn in Kirtland, Ohio.

The decision Tuesday means Ms. Bimber must now appeal to a federal court if she wants the case to continue. It was not clear whether she plans to appeal.

"I knew there was a 95 percent chance that I wasn't going to get them back," Ms. Bimber told The Journal of Corry, Pa. "Now I know it's 100."

Still to be decided is a suit Mr. Flynn filed that seeks $350,000, which includes legal fees, child support and the $20,000 surrogate fee he paid Ms. Bimber to bear the children.

Mr. Flynn contracted with Ms. Bimber in 2001. The boys were born in November 2003.

Ms. Bimber took the children home eight days later and raised them with her husband because, she said, Mr. Flynn and his girlfriend didn't name them or visit them for several days.