Paula Deen Lawsuit Dismissed After Settlement

The lawsuit that nearly destroyed grease queen Paula Deen's empire has been dismissed: according to court documents, "Pursuant to the agreement of the Parties, it is HEREBY ORDERED that these proceedings are dismissed with prejudice and without any award of costs or fees to any party." Savannah news station WTOC reports the two parties reached an undisclosed settlement. Which kind of makes you wonder why the Deen camp didn't settle to begin with?

WSAV got statements from both Paula Deen and Lisa Jackson, the woman who sued her. According to Deen, "While this has been a difficult time for both my family and myself, I am pleased that the Judge dismissed the race claims and I am looking forward to getting this behind me, now that the remaining claims have been resolved." Lisa Jackson "know[s] that the workplace environment issues that I raised are being reviewed and will in the future no longer be at issue."

Anyway, this comes after a judge threw out the racial claims in the suit, which was brought against Deen and he brother by a former employee. A deposition related to the suit in which Deen admitted to using racial slurs (among other things) was leaked to the press, and resulted in Deen being fired from the Food Network and losing a good number of sponsors. It's possible this is the last Deen-drama for awhile — at least there's the TV version to look forward to.

· Both Sides Comment to WSAV About Deen Lawsuit Settlement [WSAV]
· Paula Deen discrimination lawsuit dismissed [WTOC]
· All Paula Deen Coverage on Eater [-E-]