Entertainment

Judge sets 2018 trial date for wrongful death suit against Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey is a step closer to trial over the death of his former girlfriend Cathriona White after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled the wrongful death suit against the actor could go ahead and set a trial date for 2018.

Ex-girlfriend Cathriona White found dead of prescription drug overdose in Sept. 2015

Jim Carrey, centre, is seen attending the funeral of his ex-girlfriend Cathriona White in Ireland in 2015. A wrongful death suit brought by White's mother and estranged husband against the Canadian actor has been dismissed. (Niall Carson/PA/Associated Press)

Comedic actor Jim Carrey is a step closer to trial over the death of his former girlfriend Cathriona White. 

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Deirdre Hill ruled the wrongful death suit against the 55-year-old actor could go ahead and set a trial date for April 26, 2018.

She also noted, however, that she will continue to consider the case and Carrey's call for its dismissal.

Make-up artist Cathriona White, 30, had an on-again, off-again relationship with Carrey. She was found dead at her Los Angeles-area home in September 2015. (Instagram)

White, a 30-year-old make-up artist originally from Ireland, died in September 2015 at her Los Angeles-area home. Her death was attributed to an overdose of prescription drugs.

Carrey is being sued for wrongful death by White's estranged husband, Mark Burton, as well as her mother, Brigid Sweetman. They accuse the actor of providing the prescription drugs, obtained under an alias, responsible for White's death. 

Newmarket, Ont.-born Carrey, who became a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen in 2004, has denied the allegations against him.