U.S. actor Spacey to face civil trial in U.K. over abuse claim

Hollywood star Kevin Spacey is facing a civil trial in London over a sexual abuse claim after a judge on Tuesday set aside a previous default ruling against the actor.

A man made the claim against the Oscar-winning actor at the High Court in London in 2022, alleging he was sexually assaulted and was suffering "psychiatric damage" as a result.

But the case was put on hold when Spacey was then criminally charged with various sexual offences. He was later acquitted.

Spacey's legal team were meant to file a written defence for the civil case once the criminal proceedings ended, but failed to do so.

A default judgment was therefore entered against him, with the case then due to move onto the award of damages.

But judge David Cook said at a hearing on Tuesday that the lawyers had "quite frankly 'mucked up'", and that the mistake "should not be visited upon the defendant".

He therefore set aside the default judgment against the star of "The Usual Suspects" and "American Beauty".

"The interests of justice require that those allegations go forward to trial and the judgment in default should, therefore, be lifted," he said.

Claire Glasgow, a lawyer representing the claimant, said that "we are pleased that the judge recognised the seriousness of the claim and directed the court to proceed to trial.

"Our client is seeking justice in the civil courts for serious allegations against Mr Spacey, regardless of the findings of the criminal trial," she added.

Spacey last week denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour made in a Channel 4 documentary in the UK, "Spacey Unmasked", which began airing on Monday.