Johnny Depp is suing News Group over a story published in The Sun in 2018, which described him as a 'woman beater'.
She was linked to accusations by Depp's ex-wife, Amber Heard, 34, who claimed the actor was violent towards her, which he denies.
Today's hearing in the Supreme Court took place before a full trial, which was scheduled for July.
The lawyers of the "News Group" newspapers asked Mr. Nicol to repeal Depp's legal actions, claiming he has not complied with a court order to uncover evidence of defamation from U.S. prosecuted proceedings against Heard.
Deppâ??s lawyers have described their move as an â??ambushâ? and said it was â??tactical, just for a distractionâ?.
Dep, 57, is believed to have flown to London to attend and is expected to be isolated for 14 days under the new quarantine rules in the UK before the trial begins in full.
The trial is expected to last three weeks. The trial was originally scheduled to begin on March 25, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Mr Justice Nicol has previously ruled that statements from Depp's former partners, Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder, could be included in the trial.
Both women state that the actor was never violent towards them.
David Sherborne, representing Mr Depp, explained in court documents that the actor's relationship with Paradis ended in 2012, shortly before Dep and Heard were together, "and when he was initially suspected of being violent".
In her witness statement, Ms Paradis said: "I have known Johnny for more than 25 years. We have been partners for 14 years and we have raised our two children together. Throughout all these years I have known Johnny to be. a polite, considerate, generous, and non-violent person and father ... He was never violent or abusive to me. "
Actress Winona Ryder, who was in a relationship with the star in the 1990s, also filed a witness statement for Depp.
In it, she said: "I can't trust Ms. Heard's accusations. He was never, never violent to me. He was never, abusive to me."
