Woman drops suit against Arnie

2004-09-10 22:00

Los Angeles - A former stuntwoman is dropping her appeal against a defamation case involving California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a campaign aide to avoid paying $100 000 or more in legal fees, her attorney said.

Rhonda Miller wanted to appeal against a Los Angeles county judge's dismissal of her case in July.

But, her attorney, Paul Hoffman, said she settled for a guarantee from Schwarzenegger that she wouldn't have to pay the governor's legal costs.

Miller called a news conference a day before October's recall election to claim that Schwarzenegger groped her while the then-movie star was filming Terminator 2 and True Lies.

Schwarzenegger's campaign denied the allegations, and campaign aide Sean Walsh suggested in e-mails to reporters that Miller had a record of prostitution, theft and drug-related crimes.

Not enough evidence

The records were for a different woman of the same name, and Miller sued, claiming she had been defamed.

The suit was dismissed in July when the judge ruled there was not enough evidence that Walsh deliberately had misled reporters or that Schwarzenegger knew about Walsh's e-mail.

With the dismissal, Miller could have been forced to pay Schwarzenegger's legal costs that Hoffman estimated could top $100 000.

"She decided she didn't want to face that prospect, even though she felt the decision was terribly wrong," Hoffman told the Sacramento Bee.

- AP