Brando, ex settle case
2003-04-17 11:15
Los Angeles - Movie legend Marlon Brando has settled a $100 million lawsuit brought by a former maid who is the mother of three of his children, attorneys for both sides said on Wednesday.
"It has been amicably resolved," said Donald Woldman, as he left the courthouse with his client, Maria Cristina Ruiz, 43.
No details of the settlement were revealed.
Ruiz sued the star of The Godfather, On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire last April, claiming she had a 13-year relationship with him and gave birth to children who are aged 14, 11 and 9.
She alleged that the 79-year-old star had promised to take care of her and their children until the relationship ended, then to "divide equally any income and property acquired" during the relationship.
According to papers filed with Los Angeles Superior Court, she "devoted all aspects of her life to Brando's needs, the interests of their children, (and) his personal interests and well being, to the exclusion of her own".
'Just like a marriage'
Ruiz's lawyer Donald Woldman said the pairing, that lasted from 1988 to 2001, was "just like a marriage, except without the ring".
But Ruiz, who wore a black hooded sweater in court, claims Brando covered her living expenses until the end of 2001, then dropped her from his life altogether.
She was seeking $100 million in damages from the actor, who has seven children, and an order requiring the two-time Academy Award winner to pay "a reasonable sum" in maintenance each month.
But Brando last year branded the suit "gutter served" and said his relationship with Ruiz was "nothing more than sexual".
Broke
The eccentric method actor, who has made only six films since The Godfather, Part II in 1977, also claimed that despite a monthly income of almost $8 000 he was broke because of mounting attorney's fees.
He said he has had to mortgage his hilltop Los Angeles home, which is next door to that of superstar Jack Nicholson.
Reports have said that Brando was left all but broke by a string of court cases, notably a high-profile 1991 trial involving two of his other children.
The actor reportedly drained his bank account to pay the legal bills for defending his son Christian, who murdered his half-sister Cheyenne's lover in Brando's home in 1990.
Christian served five years of a 10-year term and was released from prison in January 1996.
Cheyenne committed suicide in 1995 at age 25 and Brando has spent much of the time since isolated in his home.