Lohan, 26, was originally due to appear in Manhattan criminal court on Monday to answer charges that she punched a 28-year-old woman in the face in the early morning of November 29 outside New York's Avenue nightclub.

But the Manhattan district attorney's office had not yet filed a criminal complaint against the 'Mean Girls' star, and, for that reason, her presence was not required at the courthouse, said David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the court system.

"The investigation into this case is continuing," said Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Lohan has been in and out of court, rehab and prison since a 2007 drunk driving arrest in Los Angeles. The actress is also due to appear in California court later in January to face charges of reckless driving and lying to police when she claimed she was not behind the wheel of a car that crashed into a truck in June in the coastal city of Santa Monica.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Ax and Eric Kelsey)

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