SANTA MONICA, Calif. – A lawsuit by parents of a teenager who says she was raped during a party at Nick Nolte's home can include evidence of previous drug and alcohol use by the actor and his son, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Nolte's publicist has said the actor was not home during the party. However, the lawsuit claims he was negligent, contending that the home had "a long history of furnishing drugs and/or alcohol to minors."
The suit states the girl, then 15, was given the date-rape drug GHB and sexually assaulted at a party on Jan. 25, 2003.
Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg said prior behavior is "certainly relevant" to the case. He denied a motion by defense attorneys to limit questioning of witnesses to what happened the night of the party.
A motion by attorneys for Nolte and his son argued that broader questioning was irrelevant to the case and would cause "unwarranted annoyance and embarrassment." Nolte's son, who was a minor at the time of the incident, was not named in the suit.
An after-hours call seeking comment from Nolte's attorney Tuesday night was not immediately returned.
A defendant in the lawsuit, Nicholas Woodring, was convicted last year of having sex with a minor.
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