Hollywood star Jim Carrey could potentially face trial over two wrongful death lawsuits over the suicide of his former girlfriend Cathriona White, after a judge refused to throw out the cases brought by White’s mother and ex-husband.
30 year old Cathriona White, a make-up artist who dated movie star Carrey on and off for several years, was found dead in her Los Angeles home back in September 2015. Her death was ruled as suicide by the L.A. County Coroner’s office in July 2016.
However, White’s estranged husband Mark Burton and mother Brigid Sweetman claimed that 55 year old Carrey provided the prescription drugs that she had overdosed on, filing lawsuits that allege the star contributed to White’s death and violated the Drug Dealer Liability Act.
Jim Carrey in May 2015
At a hearing on Wednesday (May 31st), Carrey’s lawyer Raymond Boucher, denying all the charges against his client, asked a judge to dismiss the cases, saying that re-opening the incident would be extremely distressing for the star, calling the lawsuits “malicious” and “predatory”.
“Mr Carrey loved Ms White dearly and so obviously it will be a very painful process for him,” MyNewsLA reported.
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Ahmed Ibrahim, representing both Sweetman and Burton, argued that although “we are clearly not alleging that Jim Carrey was selling drugs out of the back of his pickup truck and was therefore not marketing or selling in the traditional sense of what that word would bring to mind,” there was enough evidence to go to trial, according to the reports.
L.A. Superior Court Judge Deirdre Hill indicated that she would not be throwing out the lawsuits, wanting to explore the issues further and setting a court date for April 26th, 2018.
Cathriona White in May 2015
However, Carrey may yet avoid a date with court, as Judge Hill also told his lawyer that she would make a final ruling on the motion to strike out the case in due course, after she has had time to review the case more fully.
Carrey paid tribute to his former girlfriend at the time of her death, saying: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona. She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled. My heart goes out to her family and friends and to everyone who loved and cared about her. We have all been hit with a lightning bolt.”
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