Hollywood actor, Jim Carrey will face a court battle over the death of his Tipperary-born girlfriend after he was accused in a Los Angeles court of supplying the drugs that led to her death.
Cathriona White from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was found dead on September 28th, 2015, four days after she had fallen victim to a drugs overdose at her Los Angeles home.
Her mother, Brigid Sweetman, claims that the Canadian-born 55-year-old actor provided the prescription drugs Ambien, propranolol and Percocet that she overdosed on.
Mr Carrey will find a trial over his ex-girlfriend's wrongful death "very painful", his lawyer, Raymond Boucher, said after a date was set for the Ace Ventura star to face a jury.
Cathriona White’s mother and her former husband are suing the actor, claiming he provided the drugs used in the 30-year-old Irish make-up artist’s suicide.
Judge Deirdre Hill at Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday indicated she would not throw out the case as requested by Boucher and estimated that the trial will last 20 days.
After the hearing, Mr Boucher said: "Mr Carrey loved Ms White dearly and so obviously it will be a very painful process for him."
Ms Sweetman claims the actor provided the three prescription drugs her daughter overdosed on. Mr Carrey denies all the allegations; his lawyers described them as “malicious” and “predatory”. In court, Mr Boucher argued that allegations under drugs legislation were likely to fall outside the statute of limitations and said the wrongful death claims were too vague.
Open wording
Ahmed Ibrahim, representing the claimants, urged the judge not to delay proceedings any longer, saying Mr Carrey's lawyers will keep coming back for another "bite of the apple". He also argued to keep the lawsuit's wording open ahead of the trial. "We are clearly not alleging that Jim Carrey was selling drugs out of the back of his pick-up truck and was therefore not marketing or selling in the traditional sense of what that word would bring to mind," he added.
Ms Sweetman also alleges Mr Carrey gave her daughter three sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and pressured her to keep it quiet before her death in September 2015.
Mr Carrey is said to have transmitted herpes type 1, herpes type 2 (genital herpes) and gonorrhoea in 2013. Ms White's husband, Mark Burton, is suing Carrey over similar claims. Ms White, from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was found dead in her Los Angeles home in September 2015. A coroner recorded her death as suicide. The judge said she would send her final ruling on Mr Carrey's motion to strike to lawyers in due course but indicated she would side with the prosecution at least in part. She set a date for the trial to begin on April 26th.