Ryan Phillippe has lost a bid to have his former fiancée kept out of a lawsuit brought against him by his ex-girlfriend.
Ryan Phillippe
The 'Shooter' actor had applied for a protective order prohibiting Paulina Slagter from being deposed by lawyers acting on behalf of Elsie Hewitt, who is suing the 44-year-old actor over an alleged incident at his home two years ago.
According to The Blast, the judge ruled: "Testimony by Slagter that contradicts or undermines statements Defendant made about his own character or his knowledge of other domestic violence investigations would be relevant to this action.
"Accordingly, the motion for protective order is denied."
Both Ryan and Elsie had asked for one another to be sanctioned but the judge denied both requests.
The 'Cruel Intentions' actor had filed for the protective order in May after claiming deposing Paulina would force him to incur unnecessary expense.
He claimed: "Forcing Defendant to expend attorney's fees in attending and defending this deposition would prejudice Defendant and cause nothing more than harassment, oppression, and embracement, all of which are grounds for abuse of the discovery process."
Ryan previously launched a lawsuit of his own against Elsie - who he dated from April to July 2018 - in response to her accusation he was violent towards her following an argument.
The Guess model previously claimed she went to Ryan's house with a friend to pack up her things after a party, which the actor - who has 19-year-old daughter Ava and 15-year-old son Deacon with his ex-wife Reese Witherspoon, as well as seven-year-old Kai with Alexis Knapp - had left earlier after "being ignored" by her, when a physical altercation ensued.
But Ryan's countersuit saw him deny the allegations made against him, and slam Elsie's tale of events as being completely "fabricated", as he has claimed she broke into his home in a bid to "extort money".
Ryan also claimed that Elsie was "extremely intoxicated" during the encounter.
The star feels "sickened" by the "false" domestic violence accusations made against him because he grew up around women and was an advocate for women's rights.
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