Paris Hilton Set for Court Battle With Paris Latsis' Ex 10/25/05

Socialite Paris Hilton is set for a court battle in January (06) with the former girlfriend of her ex-fiancé Paris Latsis, who claimed the hotel heiress made defamatory statements about her.

Model/actress/producer Zeta Graff filed a lawsuit earlier this summer (05), alleging Hilton made-up stories of Graff's jealous and criminal behavior to the New York Post newspaper.

Graff briefly dated Greek shipping heir Latsis last year (04), several months before he began his ill-fated relationship with Hilton, who called off their four-month engagement last month (SEP05).

The slander and libel lawsuit reads, "For motives which are not yet entirely clear, defendant Paris Hilton and others recently caused a number of vicious lies about Ms Graff, a professional model, actress and film producer, to be published in the New York Post."

Both Graff and Hilton's attorneys met in a Santa Monica, California courtroom on Monday (24OCT05) for a preliminary hearing. Hilton's lawyer is yet to make an official response to the suit, claiming they are still investigating the incident.

The judge has set the next court hearing for January (06).