Judge orders Lindsay Lohan to answer questions about past drug use as part of civil lawsuit

Judge orders Lindsay Lohan to answer questions

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Lindsay Lohan will have to answer more questions about a 2007 car chase that landed her in jail, including inquiries about drug use at the time, a judge ruled Thursday.

Lohan’s answers will be used in a civil lawsuit filed against the actress by a woman who claims she suffered emotional distress after the incident, which prompted a criminal case that still haunts the “Mean Girls” star.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard A. Stone ordered Lohan to sit for a two-hour deposition next month. The judge approved a request by Lohan’s attorney to allow the questioning to happen after July 6, when a criminal judge will decide whether Lohan violated her probation by missing a court hearing in May.

Tracie Rice, who was a passenger in a car being chased by Lohan in July 2007, sued the actress for assault, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress a month later. The case is scheduled to go to trial in late July.

Lohan was charged with seven misdemeanors stemming from her arrest after the chase and another incident a few months earlier.

Rice’s attorney, Paul Hoffman, argued Thursday that Lohan hadn’t answered key questions about her drug use and whether she was remorseful, both of which could help his case.

“This case is about somebody who claims to be sober and had cocaine and blew a DUI for alcohol,” Hoffman said. He said the questions would be crucial to a jury deciding whether Lohan should have to pay punitive damages if she is found liable.

Lohan’s attorney, Ed McPherson, said the questions seemed aimed more at embarrassing Lohan in the press and could harm her if used at the probation hearing. He said Lohan sat for a daylong deposition during which she was subjected to numerous lines of questioning, including whether she had seen a recent “60 Minutes” episode featuring Al Pacino.

“It’s clear they don’t need answers to these questions,” McPherson argued. He also said Lohan was busy focusing on the fulfilling the conditions of her criminal case and working.

“My client is undergoing weekly drug testing, alcohol classes and trying to film a movie,” McPherson said.

Stone said he would order a second deposition, but that attorneys should contact him if any issues arose rather than returning to court.

McPherson said after the hearing that his client would comply with the order and answer the questions about Lohan’s past drug use. “I think it’s a bit of overkill in this case,” he said.

Hoffman declined comment after the hearing.

Lohan has struggled with the terms of her probation in the criminal case, for which she served 84 minutes in jail and was sentenced to probation and alcohol education courses. Her probation had to be extended after she missed deadlines to finish the classes, and Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel revoked her probation in May after Lohan missed a court hearing.

Revel ordered Lohan, 23, to wear an ankle alcohol monitor and increased her bail after the device issued an alert that authorities have said was alcohol-related.

She did not attend Thursday’s hearing.