Jacobs' family members filed a lawsuit last June, claiming Rowling's 2000 book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire steals segments of the writer's novel The Adventures of Willy the Wizard - No 1 Livid Land. Rowling was named as a defendant in the lawsuit on Wednesday after the trustee of Jacobs' estate, Paul Allen, realised the time limit to sue the writer had not run out.

But Rowling has moved quickly to slam the accusation, insisting she has never even read Jacobs' book and will be applying to have the claim dismissed immediately. In a statement, she says: "The fact is I had never heard of the author or the book before the first accusation by those connected to the author's estate in 2004; I have certainly never read the book.

"The claims that are made are not only unfounded but absurd and I am disappointed that I, and my U.K. publisher Bloomsbury, are put in a position to have to defend ourselves. We will be applying to the court immediately for a ruling that the claim is without merit and should therefore be dismissed without delay."