Earlier this week Jim Carrey was cleared of the lawsuits against him in relation to the “apparent suicide of his former girlfriend Cathriona White.” According to a representative for Carrey, the suits were “dismissed on Jan. 25” thanks in large part to a motion filed by his attorney, Raymond Boucher, in which he asked the court to “compel Mark Burton to provide White's STD test results. Through discovery, Boucher came to the conclusion that a 2011 document showing White had clean test results prior to meeting Carrey was a forgery.” But who is Mark Burton? Why were the lawsuits filed against Carrey in the first place?It all started shortly after White's “death by drug overdose” back in 2015. As a result of the untimely death, White's mother, Brigid Sweetman, and estranged husband, Mark Burton, sued Carrey and “claimed he was to blame” for White's death. In the lawsuit Burton blamed Carrey for providing White “with the pills she overdosed on and gave her sexually transmitted diseases.” Though Sweetman and Burton filed separate wrongful death suits against the comedian, both lawsuits made similar claims.

Drug Overdose; image courtesy of Sam Metsfan, Wikimedia Commons.

Carrey and his lawyer pushed back against the allegations, though. For starters, his lawyer argued, “that the claims made under drugs legislation were likely to fall outside the statute of limitations and said the wrongful death claims were too vague.” He even attempted to get the case thrown out by filing a motion, but “Judge Deirdre Hill at Los Angeles Superior Court indicated that she would side with the prosecution, who urged her not to delay proceedings any longer.”In an attempt to defend himself, Carrey filed a countersuit in which he claimed the lawsuits against him “were an attempt to exploit a famous actor.” Additionally, he also claimed, “White had extorted him by threatening to go to the press with false allegations that he had given her multiple sexually transmitted diseases.”Throughout the ordeal, Carrey continuously denied the allegations against him, allegations his lawyers called “malicious and predatory.” When commenting on how Carrey felt about the looming trial before the case was dismissed, Boucher said: “Mr. Carrey loved Ms. White dearly and so obviously it (the trial) will be a very painful process for him.”Before being dismissed earlier this week, Carrey was scheduled to appear in court in April 2018. Now that the lawsuits have all been dropped and the trial date canceled, sources close to Carrey say he is “looking forward to moving on with his life.”

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Jim Carrey Clear of Lawsuits Over Former Girlfriend's DeathJim Carrey won't face a civil trial over Cathriona White's deathJim Carrey heading to trial in wrongful death lawsuit