A stunt double for Angelina Jolie wants to take her phone-hacking fight against The Sun newspaper to Britain.
Eunice Huthart alleges the paper learnt about Jolie and Brad Pitt's courtship because it hacked her phone during the filming of the movie Mr & Mrs Smith.
The stuntwoman wants to sue News Corp and related companies over the alleged phone hacking, and is trying to persuade an American judge to refer the case to Britain.
US District Judge Michael Fitzgerald said Huthart had "a very interesting case", and if it were a personal decision, he'd like to keep it in the US.
"And Ms Jolie being a witness would be very interesting," the judge said.
"But given that, I believe it belongs in England."
After hearing legal arguments, Fitzgerald said he would consider the matter further. He did not set a date for his ruling.
Huthart says she didn't learn of the phone intrusion until British police went to see her in 2011 when the hacking scandal broke.
New York lawyer Norman Siegel told the judge that sending the case to Britain would be tantamount to a dismissal - because most cases associated with the scandal have been resolved and deadlines have passed for filing suits there.
He argued that the alleged violation of Huthart's rights occurred in the US.
"When the attack on privacy occurs within our borders it should not go unpunished," Siegel said.
Huthart's defence lawyer Joseph M Terry says his client is an English citizen and her case belongs in Britain.
"They can't choose a forum because they think the laws will allow them to (question News Corp chairman) Rupert Murdoch," Terry said.
