Civil case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn to go ahead

A hotel maid's civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault by Dominique Strauss-Kahn can proceed to trial, a New York judge has said.

The judge rejected the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) head's bid to have the case dismissed on the grounds of diplomatic immunity.

The woman, Nafissatou Diallo, says Mr Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in his hotel suite in May 2011. He denies it.

Prosecutors dropped criminal charges over the case last summer.

Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon said diplomatic immunity did not apply to Mr Strauss-Kahn at the time of the 14 May encounter at a Sofitel Hotel in New York City.

"Confronted with well-stated law that his voluntary resignation from the IMF terminated any immunity which he enjoyed... Mr Strauss-Kahn, threw (legally speaking that is) his own version of a Hail Mary pass," Judge McKeon wrote, according to the New York Post.

Ms Diallo has said Mr Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex; he says the encounter was consensual.

Criminal charges against the French economist were dropped in August, after prosecutors said Ms Diallo had changed her account of her actions immediately after the incident.

At the time of the incident, Mr Strauss-Kahn had been viewed as a potential candidate for the French presidency.