Charlie Sheen settles lawsuit over "Men" firing (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Charlie Sheen has settled a lawsuit with the makers and creators of "Two and A Half Men" over the actor's dismissal from the top-rated U.S. television comedy earlier this year, Warner Bros. said on Monday.

Sheen had filed a $100 million lawsuit against the studio behind the CBS comedy and its creator Chuck Lorre after he was fired from the show in March.

Warner Bros. did not put a figure on the settlement. The case had been settled through arbitration.

"Warner Bros. Television, Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen have resolved their dispute to the parties' mutual satisfaction. The pending lawsuit and arbitration will be dismissed as to all parties. The parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality over the terms of the settlement," Warner Bros said in a statement.

Sheen, the highest-paid actor on U.S. television, was fired from "Two and A Half Men" after publicly insulting Lorre in a series of bizarre interviews. His remarks followed a series of trips to rehab that had forced production on the TV comedy to be suspended in early 2011.

Monday's settlement announcement followed months of acrimonious exchanges, tempered by contrite appearances by Sheen on TV talk shows and at The Emmys in the last two weeks.

Sheen was replaced on "Two and A Half Men" by Ashton Kutcher. The new season debuted last week to a record 28.7 million U.S. viewers -- a bigger audience than any episodes in the comedy's first eight seasons with Sheen in the starring role as a womanizing bachelor.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Mel Gibson settles for $750,000 with Grigorieva (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor Mel Gibson will pay the mother of his 22 month-old daughter $750,000 and get joint custody of the child, ending a bitter custody and financial dispute that badly damaged his Hollywood career.

The "Braveheart" director and his former musician girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva agreed to a settlement detailed in a Los Angeles Superior Court hearing on Wednesday following a more than year-long war of words.

Judge Peter Lichtman banned both Gibson and Grigorieva from writing books about their relationship, which unraveled in early 2010 amid accusations of violence and extortion.

"I would like to thank your honor for bringing this matter to a reasonable conclusion," Gibson told Lichtman at Wednesday's hearing.

Grigorieva, who had been seeking millions of dollars from the Oscar-winning actor, thanked Lichtman for "the tremendous help to resolve this situation."

The acrimony between the couple became public a year ago when taped phone calls were leaked online in which Gibson was heard ranting, cursing and insulting Grigorieva.

The leak appeared to have been aimed at putting pressure on the actor to increase an initial settlement offer to Grigorieva that was reported to be around $15 million. Los Angeles prosecutors later decided against charging Grigorieva with extortion.

In March, Gibson admitted slapping Grigorieva during an argument and was sentenced to three years probation.

The widely-heard tapes further tarnished a reputation damaged by Gibson's 2006 anti-Semitic tirade following a drunk driving arrest in Malibu.

His manager quit, he lost a cameo role in "The Hangover: Part Two" because other people refused to work with him, and the release of his movie "The Beaver" was delayed and ultimately flopped at box offices in May.

Gibson, who was once estimated to be worth $900 million after a string of hit movies like "Lethal Weapon" and "The passion of the Christ", reached a private settlement with his wife Robyn in June that wrapped up their divorce after 28 years of marriage.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Dr. Dre settles lawsuit over 'Chronic' sales (AP)

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – Mon Jun 6, 8:20 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Dr. Dre won't be behind the microphone at a federal courthouse after all — the rapper settled a lawsuit over damages from unauthorized online sales of his album "The Chronic" a day before trial.

Attorneys for the rap superstar, whose real name is Andre Young, filed a notice of settlement in a Los Angeles federal court late Monday afternoon. He had been expected to testify during the weeklong trial, which would have decided whether Young was entitled to 100 percent of the profits from online sales of the rap album, which also helped launch the career of Snoop Dogg.

No details of the settlement, which is not yet finalized, were filed with the court.

In April a judge ruled that WIDEawake Death Row Records didn't have the proper permission to sell Young's music online or repackage it on new CD releases. The label purchased the holdings of original Death Row Records, which launched the careers of several rappers, out of bankruptcy.

He sued WIDEawake Death Row in 2010 for breach of contract, trademark infringement and misappropriation of his likeness.

Young was a co-founder of the label, but negotiated a deal to leave the company that required Death Row to obtain his permission before selling his music digitally. On Monday, "The Chronic" was no longer available for download on Apple's popular music service iTunes.

There was no immediate comment from attorneys for either Young or WIDEawake Death Row.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/celebritydocket

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Lindsay Lohan settles suit over 2007 highway chase (AP)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Lindsay Lohan has settled a lawsuit filed by a woman who was chased by the actress in a pre-dawn pursuit that has haunted the actress in civil and criminal courts for nearly three years.

The starlet on Wednesday settled the lawsuit filed by Tracie Rice, who claimed she was traumatized and lost a well-paying job because of the incident, court records show.

Rice was a passenger in a car driven by the mother of Lohan's former assistant, who the actress pursued down the scenic Pacific Coast Highway in July 2007. The chase ended with Lohan's arrest in the parking lot of the Santa Monica Police Department; Rice has said she thought the actress was trying to carjack her.

No details of the settlement, which was first reported Friday by celebrity website TMZ, were released.

"Lindsay is very pleased to put this unfortunate event behind her," her attorney, Ed McPherson, wrote in a statement.

Lohan was arrested twice for driving under the influence in 2007, and remains on probation for offenses. She has struggled to comply with the terms of her release, with three separate judges sending her to jail since July 2010.

The "Mean Girls" star was sentenced to four months in jail last month for violating her probation by taking a necklace without permission, and on Thursday surrendered to authorities and began serving her term on house arrest. She is expected to spend roughly 35 days on home confinement.

Rice's case against Lohan has been repeatedly delayed in the past year because of Lohan's stints in jail and rehab. Rice's attorney, Paul L. Hoffman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

Lohan is also being sued by three men who were in the sport utility vehicle the actress used to pursue Rice. McPherson wrote the actress expects to be vindicated in that case.

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Actress Miller settles News Corp phone snoop case (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Sienna Miller will take a payoff to drop a case against a newspaper that snooped on her phone messages, a scandal that embarrassed Rupert Murdoch's News Corp while it seeks government blessing for a huge merger.

Miller, the on-and-off girlfriend of fellow Hollywood star Jude Law, was one of the main plaintiffs suing News Corp over allegations reporters at its News of the World tabloid illegally listened to voice messages to get scoops.

The scandal has already cost Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman his job and led to calls for greater oversight of Britain's ruthlessly competitive news media.

The newspaper said it would pay Miller 100,000 pounds ($160,000) as part of a settlement that would see her drop her case. The newspaper would also give her documents in the case.

Miller was one of more than 20 celebrities, including TV personalities, sports figures and even former cabinet members, suing the News of the World for hiring a private investigator to hack into the voicemail accounts of their mobile phones.

Her case was expected to be one of a handful of lead cases against the newspaper that will set compensation levels for other plaintiffs. The lead cases are expected to be decided at a case-management hearing next week.

"We are pleased that we have managed to bring this case to a satisfactory conclusion. Several weeks ago we admitted liability in certain cases and offered a genuine and unreserved apology," News International said in a statement on Friday.

"We hope to resolve other cases swiftly."

Miller's lawyer had no immediate comment.

The scandal has damaged News Corp's reputation at a time when it has been seeking government approval for a proposed $14 billion takeover of British pay-TV firm BSkyB. Opponents want the merger blocked pending the outcome of a police probe.

One journalist at the newspaper was jailed in 2007 for illegally snooping on phone messages of a member of the royal household, but the paper maintained until this year that it was an isolated incident.

The police have since reopened the investigation, several journalists have been arrested and the newspaper has apologised. Cameron's media chief Andy Coulson, who had been the newspaper's editor at the time when the snooping took place, resigned.

Ex-member of parliament George Galloway, who also says his voicemail was hacked, has called cash settlements a legal trap that would allow News Corp to silence claimants by offering them compensation they cannot afford to refuse.

Claimants who refuse to settle and bring their cases to court could end up with huge legal bills.

(Editing by Peter Graff)

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