An unnamed Toronto actress suing disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein on allegations of sexual assault has been unable to serve Weinstein with notice of the lawsuit, her lawyers told court Monday morning.

“His whereabouts are unknown,” said Alex Smith, a civil litigator with the high-profile Henein Hutchison law firm, which has been retained by the Toronto woman, identified only as “Jane Doe” in court proceedings.

Smith said that they have made multiple attempts to serve Weinstein with notice of the suit, to no avail.

They have also been unable to serve Weinstein’s former assistant, Barbara Schneeweiss, whom the woman is also suing for “facilitating” the alleged assaults, which she says occurred in the summer of 2000.

In spite of the procedural delays, Superior Court Justice Todd Archibald formally issued the $14-million lawsuit on Monday and ruled that “Jane Doe” could remain anonymous for the time being. He also granted Smith’s motion to allow “substituted service,” meaning notice of the lawsuit can be delivered to Weinstein and Schneeweiss by means other than those outlined in court rules.

The suit’s two other defendants — the Walt Disney Company and Miramax, the production companies behind the film — have been served, Smith said.

The next scheduled court appearance is Dec. 1.

Once one of the film industry’s most powerful producers, Weinstein has become a pariah following a cascade of sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations, first reported in October by the New York Times and the New Yorker. Allegations have been made by dozens of women and span several decades.

Charlotte Triggs, senior editor for People Magazine, discusses the sexual harassment, abuse and assault allegations leveled against some of Hollywood's biggest stars. (The Associated Press)

Weinstein has since been fired by the Weinstein Company and kicked out of the film industry’s Academy, and is facing multiple lawsuits and police investigations.

The 65-year-old made vague admissions to sexual impropriety in a statement to the Times, but has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Neither Weinstein’s spokesperson, Sallie Hofmeister, nor a man identified in court as Schneeweiss’s lawyer, responded to a request for comment on Monday.

The Toronto woman accuses Weinstein of exposing his penis to her in a Toronto hotel room and then holding her down, pulling her clothes off and forcibly performing oral sex on her. She also accuses him of forcibly sticking his tongue down her throat in a separate incident. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

She alleges the production companies were negligent because they should have known of Weinstein’s behaviour.

The woman’s statement of claim says she reported the alleged assaults to Toronto police last month. A police spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny that Weinstein is under investigation.

While Justice Archibald ruled the lawsuit can proceed anonymously for now, whether or not the woman will be able to remain anonymous could still be contested by the defendants.

Smith said in court on Monday that the woman was scheduled to see a mental health expert, who could then provide an opinion on whether pursuing the lawsuit with her name attached would cause “irreparable harm” to the woman’s health.

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If the lawsuit reaches trial, the woman will still have to testify and the defendants will know who she is, but her identity will be protected by a publication ban.

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