LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal judge declined Monday to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Robert De Niro misrepresented his health on a movie production insurance form.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real denied a motion by the Oscar winner asking the court to toss the suit by the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., which insured production on the Fox film ''Hide and Seek.'' De Niro's motion called the suit ''a case that should never have been filed.''

''We are still confident that we will prevail,'' De Niro's attorney Robyn Crowther said following the judge's ruling.

Fireman's Fund claims the actor misrepresented his health when he wrote on an insurance form that he had never been diagnosed with or treated for prostate cancer.

According to court documents, De Niro was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Oct. 15, 2003, two days after he signed the medical certificate. De Niro underwent a prostate-gland biopsy on Oct. 10, 2003.

De Niro's diagnosis and resulting treatment delayed the movie production. Fireman's Fund paid Fox more than $1.8 million to cover the cost of the delay. The film was released in January 2005.

A July 2 hearing is set to decide whether the case should be transferred back to state court.

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