Spacey wins bid to set aside High Court ruling in sexual abuse claim
Kevin Spacey has won a bid to set aside a judgment against him in a High Court sexual abuse claim made after his solicitors did not file his defence in time.
In 2022, the Oscarwinning actor was sued by a man at the High Court in London who claimed he had been sexually assaulted by Mr Spacey and suffered “psychiatric damage”.
The civil claim was paused after Mr Spacey was charged – and later acquitted – in criminal proceedings of a number of sexual offences alleged by four men between 2001 and 2013.
At a hearing yesterday, the court heard that the actor’s lawyers were due to file a written defence after the end of the criminal proceedings but had failed to do so.
A default judgment was subsequently entered against Mr Spacey in the civil case on his liability earlier this year.
Adam Speker KC, for Mr Spacey, made a bid to set aside the default ruling, describing the failure to file the paperwork as a “genuine error by his solicitor”.
The barrister told the hearing in London it would be unfair to proceed to a damages hearing and the contested allegations should be taken to trial.
Lifting the default civil judgment, Judge David Cook said: “There can be no excuse in my view for the date being overlooked.
“The simple fact of the matter is this is a claim where the defendant’s solicitors have made an error.
“In my view, that error should not be visited upon the defendant.
“The interests of justice require that those allegations go forward to trial and the judgment in default should, therefore, be lifted.”
The hearing comes after Mr Spacey denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour ahead of the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary.
Spacey Unmasked began this week. Ahead of the broadcast the 64-year-old actor told former GB News presenter Dan Wootton: “I’ve never told someone that if they give me sexual favours, then I will help them out with their career, never.”