It is a bitter legal battle that could have been ripped from the pages of a novel – a wealthy California businessman is being sued by his much-younger lover for allegedly giving her a sexually transmitted disease during their passionate relationship.

But in a new twist, he is accusing her of using a novel based on her experiences to call him a child abuser, a rapist and a sex addict.

The electrifying court case, DailyMail.com can reveal, is now set to play out between Mallory Hill, 59, and Liz Crokin, 37, in a trial that opens in Los Angeles later this month.

Both sides will bring ground-breaking arguments, with Crokin saying her ex is using litigation to attack her allegations of sexual assault by launching an assault on free speech.

In happier times: Former couple Mallory Hill, 59, and Liz Crokin, 37, are to go to war in court over their former relationship with Crokin claiming her wealthy ex infected her with an STD - which he denies.

Crokin, an author and journalist, claims she has taped conversations in which her ex, Hill, admits to giving her herpes. He denies the accusation, saying he never gave her the STD

She also claims that Hill's act amounted to battery, because the STD left her permanently brain-damaged after it led to her being hospitalized with viral meningitis

He, meanwhile, says she invaded his privacy and smeared his reputation in interviews promoting her novel Malice, as well as in the book itself. He flatly denies having infected her with the STD.

In court documents seen by DailyMail.com, Hill accuses Crokin of telling 'vulgar and scathing lies' in the book, which she describes as being inspired by her life story.

Hill also denies being the source of Crokin's herpes – which she says left her permanently brain-damaged after it led to her being hospitalized with viral meningitis.

But Crokin, an author and journalist, claims she has taped conversations in which he admits to giving her the STD – and says his lawsuit is yet another example of Hill's 'complete disregard' for her health and wellbeing.

The former couple enjoyed a short relationship after being introduced by friends in June 2012.

During the relationship, Crokin, who lives in Los Angeles, claims Hill, of Corona del Mar, infected her with the STD.

Although the pair had been considering marriage, the affair ended in March 2013 after she accused him of being the source of her herpes which, she says, left her 'totally devastated' and shook her faith in men.

Hill's lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles on December 19, is now the latest round in a legal battle that began in February 2014 when Crokin filed a personal injury case alleging battery and negligence against him.

According to Crokin, her brain-damage and subsequent post-traumatic stress disorder could have been avoided altogether if Hill had confessed to having herpes when their relationship began.

Hill filed a lawsuit saying the former showbiz columnist is guilty of slandering him in interviews given to promote her novel - titled Malice – and that he and the main character are clearly intended to be seen as being the same person

Hill's civil complaint reads: 'To suggest that Malice portrays Plaintiff in a less than flattering light is an understatement. It goes to incredible lengths to humiliate Plaintiff, spreading vulgar and scathing lies'

In March 2015, Malice, a novel inspired by her experiences, was published.

In it, heroine Lana Burke, who like Crokin is a reporter, embarks on a relationship with wealthy older businessman called Malken Murphy – only for her life to fall apart after he gives her herpes.

In his suit, which was served on Crokin this week, Hill says the former showbiz columnist is guilty of slandering him in interviews given to promote the book – and claims he and Murphy are clearly intended to be seen as being the same person.

His civil complaint reads: 'To suggest that Malice portrays Plaintiff in a less than flattering light is an understatement.

'It goes to incredible lengths to humiliate Plaintiff, spreading vulgar and scathing lies.'

Among the examples pointed to by Hill are scenes in which Murphy has sex with prostitutes, is imagined as being part of a pedophile ring by Burke and is described as 'having slipped [club drug] ecstasy into his wife's drink several times before they were married'.

The businessman, who claims he is easily identifiable as being the inspiration for Murphy, also lists an allegation of giving Crokin a date rape drug and other claims, including that he gave his daughter Lyme disease, physically abused Crokin and is a sex addict.

He denies giving her the STD. In his court documents he calls her claim a 'false statement'.

But Crokin and her attorney Shawn Murphy say that she is exercising her right to free speech to create a work of fiction.

They also tell DailyMail.com that the 37-year-old 'stands by every public statement she has made about him' and dubbed the suit 'despicable'.

'This is a further example of his complete disregard for not only her health but her emotional wellbeing,' said Murphy.

Crokin's legal team says she is exercising her right to free speech to create a work of fiction

'The fact that he would accuse her of slandering him by saying he infected her with herpes when he has admitted in recorded conversations that he is infected with it and has been for 20 years; to turn around and try to claim that she is falsely accusing him of something he's admitted to is despicable behavior.'

Hill also claims invasion of privacy and says his reputation was 'smeared' in interviews given by Crokin to promote Malice and in publicity surrounding the civil case she filed against him in 2014.

That case sees him accused of infecting her with herpes – which, in court papers seen by DailyMail.com, is described as amounting to battery.

According to Crokin, Hill was well aware he had herpes but allegedly insisted on having unprotected sex with her and then lied about having the disease both to her and physicians.

Crokin, who says what happened to her is 'the worst case scenario' for people diagnosed with the illness, went on to develop meningitis, which left her brain-damaged.

'My brain had lesions on it,' she said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com. 'My brain was left severely damaged.

'How is that any different to me walking outside of my house and some crazy person taking a bat and hitting me in the head repeatedly?

'The damage my ex [Hill] did to my brain is very severe and yet, I have gotten nowhere with the authorities in terms of criminal charges and it's very frustrating.'

In her civil case, Crokin accuses Hill of battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud by intentional concealment – all of which arise from him allegedly infecting her with herpes and then, she claims, lying about having the disease.

'All of this could have been avoided if he had just been honest with me when I first brought up my initial symptoms and said he had herpes,' Crokin said. Pictured, the author taking a selfie with Omarosa, who has recently been chosen as 'public liaison' leader in president-elect Trump's White House

'Once I realized he had infected me with herpes, it completely destroyed me – it devastated me,' Crokin told DailyMail.com.

'You have to keep in mind this is a man who I loved, I trusted - we had planned on getting married.

'He had lied not only to me but to all my physicians which probably delayed my treatment and is one of the reasons why this [the herpes] progressed into such a serious condition [meningitis].

'All of this could have been avoided if he had just been honest with me when I first brought up my initial symptoms and said he had herpes.

'To find out that someone I was so in love with could have done this to me was just totally devastating.'

Crokin first realized something was wrong after becoming ill during a trip to San Francisco with Hill in late September 2012.

A day before she and Hill were due to fly home, she awoke with 'unbearable vaginal pain' according to her civil suit, and was forced to consult a local doctor.

At the clinic, she was told she probably had either gonorrhea or chlamydia and was treated for both – but her symptoms worsened on her return home and she was rushed to hospital.

Eventually, during her stay at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, herpes was diagnosed but by then, the disease had progressed into a viral form of meningitis.

Later, she also developed encephalitis, a dangerous swelling of the brain that Crokin says left her suffering from daily migraines and vertigo.

The illness, she says, also left her unable to work as a result of photophobia – an extreme aversion to light – resulting from brain damage.

A year after her initial diagnosis, she developed post-traumatic stress disorder – and says she still suffers from crippling depression and anxiety.

In consequence, Crokin says she went from being a successful reporter earning $100,000 a year to living on food stamps and being heavily in debt as a result of her medical costs.

'What he gave me could have killed me and it's left me with permanent brain damage,' Crokin told DailyMail.com.

Sequel planned: Crokin says that despite the litigation, she is continuing with her plan to write two sequels to her debut novel

'It's completely destroyed my life in so many different areas – and there is no law there that could have protected me. It's been really frustrating.'

Crokin is now an advocate for sexual assault victims and wants to see the intentional transmission of an STD other than HIV upgraded from a misdemeanor to a felony under California law.

Knowingly infecting another person with HIV is already considered a felony and is punishable with up to eight years in jail.

She has also returned to reporting and is writing a sequel to Malice, which she says is the first in a trilogy.

Despite the timing of Hill's defamation suit, Crokin's lawyer Shawn Murphy says he does not think the case will have an impact on this month's trial.

'It has been assigned to the same judge that is presiding over our STD case, the personal injury case, but it will proceed on a totally different scale and a different track,' he said.

'We probably won't even answer the case until the trial has been heard for the first one so it probably won't impact [Crokin's personal injury] case.'

Crokin says she is looking forward to having her day in court and is looking forward to the end of what she describes as 'four horrendous years'.

'I've been dealing with this nightmare for four years and I just want to get my day in court and get justice for what this person [Hill] did to me,' she said.

'I want to move on with my life and really just focus on myself, my friends and my family, my career and my books and my writing. I don't want to ever have to think about this person ever again.