In one document dated April 1, his legal team said: “The fact that Mr Brand is already facing a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom – coupled with highly publicised allegations that have been made … that Mr Brand committed similar sexual assaults in the United States – is more than sufficient to support a ‘reasonable belief’ that he could face prosecution here.”

Mark Cuccaro, Brand’s attorney, called for the US lawsuit to be postponed, arguing that it was likely to contain “overlapping issues” with the UK criminal investigation.

The lawyer claimed this also meant Brand should not be forced to provide testimony to the US lawsuit while the UK case is ongoing, since this could incriminate him.

“If Mr Brand’s deposition proceeds, he is expected to be asked questions not only about [Jane Doe’s] specific allegations, but also about other allegations of sexual assault relating to the criminal investigation in the United Kingdom,” Mr Cuccaro claimed in a document first reported by The Sun on Sunday.

The US court submissions added: “Mr Brand’s alleged assaults in the United Kingdom could potentially be admitted as evidence of other assaults in the United States if he were to be criminally charged here.”

Request to delay denied

Judge Shlomo Hagler rejected the request by Brand’s legal team to delay the case, but granted him an extension until Oct 30 to submit his deposition.

The lawsuit was filed in state court in November 2023 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives accusers a one-year window to sue over alleged historic sexual abuse, even if statutes of limitations have expired.

Jane Doe claims Brand exposed his genitalia to her “openly and obviously in the presence of everyone on set” in between the filming of Arthur, a remake of the 1981 film starring Dudley Moore.

The woman alleges that an intoxicated Brand later followed her into a bathroom on set and sexually assaulted her.

The complainant is also suing Warner Bros Pictures and other companies involved in the film production for alleged negligence amid claims they tolerated Brand’s misconduct during filming.

Brand denies the allegations, with his lawyers describing them as “specious” and “scurrilous” in court documents.

In his initial response to the lawsuit filed in February 2024, Brand claimed that an open bottle of an alcoholic drink that was on the set of Arthur was a film prop since he “had been sober for approximately eight years” by that point.

He alleged it showed the claimant had a “faulty memory” of the events, and also claimed never to have met the woman.

Warner Bros and other companies involved in the lawsuit have also denied the woman’s allegations against them.