The author’s motion to dismiss argued that the case should be heard in New Zealand, where the alleged abuse took place, and called accuser Scarlett Pavlovich ‘a fantasist’

Neil Gaiman has asked a US district court to throw out a civil lawsuit accusing him of rape and sexual assault, filed last month by a woman who previously worked for the author and his former partner, Amanda Palmer.

The motion to dismiss, filed on Tuesday, argued that the case should be heard in New Zealand, where the alleged abuse took place, rather than in the US.