Kevin Spacey’s lawyers forced to apologise for ‘muck up’ in sexual assault case

Kevin Spacey’s lawyers have been forced to apologise after failing to file crucial defence documents in the case against him for sexual assault.

Carter Ruck, the high-profile media and celebrity law firm, was found to have “quite frankly mucked up” by a High Court judge, who said the solicitors then compounded their mistake by trying to “go on the attack”.

The debacle arose from the civil claim made against the Hollywood actor by a man who alleges he sexually assaulted him, causing him psychiatric damage. Spacey denies the claim.

The litigation was paused after Spacey, formerly artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre in London for 11 years, was charged and later acquitted at a criminal trial for a number of sexual offences alleged by four men between 2001 and 2013.

At a hearing on Tuesday, the High Court heard that the actor’s lawyers had been obliged to file a written defence within a set period of time after the end of the criminal proceedings, but had failed to do so.

A default judgment was subsequently entered against Spacey, meaning he could have been found formally liable for sexual misconduct because of the incompetence of his solicitors.

‘Error should not be visited upon defendant’

However, Adam Speker KC, his barrister, apologised to the court and successfully applied to set aside the default ruling, describing the failure to file the paperwork as a “genuine error by his solicitor”.

Judge David Cook agreed to set aside the ruling, saying: “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.”

Judge Cook directed particular criticism for an “aggressive” witness statement submitted by Nigel Tait, managing partner at Carter Ruck.

“When a solicitor, in the vernacular, mucks up, I would expect a full acceptance of that fact,” he said.

“To go on the attack, in the way he has here, looking for holes, really is to be deprecated.”

The judge described one of the arguments made by Mr Spacey’s team as “one of the most thoroughly bad points that has ever been put before me”.

Carter Ruck has built a reputation as one of the go-to firms for celebrities and wealthy individuals, particularly in the sphere of defamation and media law.

It was named in evidence to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 2022 as an obstacle to free speech because of alleged attempts to put pressure on investigative journalists through aggressive legal action, a claim strongly denied by the firm.

‘Claimant seeking justice for serious allegations’

Claire Glasgow, of Fieldfisher who is representing the claimant, said after the hearing: “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.”

The hearing comes after Mr Spacey denied allegations of inappropriate behaviour ahead of the broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary.

The programme, titled Spacey Unmasked, began airing on Monday and is said to feature testimony from men “regarding events they say took place between 1976 and 2013”.

Ahead of the broadcast the 64-year-old actor, in an interview with Dan Wootton, a former GB News presenter, said: “I take full responsibility for my past behaviour and my actions, but I cannot and will not take responsibility or apologise to anyone who’s made up stuff about me or exaggerated stories about me.

“I’ve never told someone that if they give me sexual favours, then I will help them out with their career, never.”

Mr Spacey added: “I’ve clearly hooked up with some men who thought they might get ahead in their careers by having a relationship with me.

“But there was no conversation with me, it was all part of their plan, a plan that was always destined to fail because I wasn’t in on the deal.”

On Thursday, the actor claimed he had “repeatedly requested” that Channel 4 give him more than seven days to respond to the allegations made about him in the documentary and said the broadcaster refused.

The High Court trial is now expected to take place in the summer of 2025.

Tuesday’s hearing also focused on the proposed costs of the litigation.

Judge Cook downgraded a number of Mr Spacey’s legal team’s projected costs, describing them as unreasonable.