Dancer Michael Flatley is due to begin legal action on November 24th against an attorney he has accused of extortion.
The attorney, Mr Dean Mauro, represented Ms Tyna Marie Robertson, the Illinois woman who claimed she was raped by Flatley in a Las Vegas hotel in 2002.
Mr Mauro denies using extortion in an attempt to win a multi-million dollar settlement for his client.
Flatley's lawyer, Mr Bertram Fields, said his client was determined the case should proceed after the Los Angeles Court of Appeal ruled last Thursday that a letter sent by Mr Mauro to Flatley might have exceeded the free speech rights normally enjoyed by a lawyer representing their client.
In a strongly-worded judgment, Judge Paul Turner ruled that Mr Mauro's conduct might have gone beyond the accepted behaviour of an attorney and had "threatened criminal prosecution or publication of defamatory matter about the rape" as a way of getting a "seven figure payment".
Judge Turner said the threats are not protected communication under law and struck down Mr Mauro's claim that his communication with Flatley was protected by the first amendment of the US constitution, which guarantees free speech.
Mr Fields showed the court a letter sent by Mr Mauro to Flatley, in which he threatened to release details of the rape claim to the media unless Flatley settled with Ms Robertson.
The court also heard that in January 2003, Mr Mauro sent Mr Fields a letter, written as a draft legal complaint, which claimed that Mr Mauro wanted "to amicably resolve this claim", but said if that didn't happen, he would launch an "in-depth investigation" into Flatley's assets, businesses and future engagements.
Mr Fields submitted a written statement concerning an alleged telephone conversation he had with Mr Mauro, in which Mr Mauro allegedly threatened to reveal details of the rape allegation in every city in which Mr Flatley or his dance troop appeared, unless Flatley paid out in at least "seven figures".
Flatley has admitted having sex with Ms Robertson in a Las Vegas hotel in 2002. Ms Robertson contacted police three weeks later but no charges were ever brought against Flatley and she abandoned her $33 million claim.