Oscar Pistorius drops claim - report

2013-03-03 11:05

Oscar Pistorius Foto:AP

Johannesburg - Murder-accused paralympian Oscar Pistorius has withdrawn a R2.2m claim against a woman who was injured at his home in 2009, according to a report on Sunday.

Pistorius decided to withdraw the reputational damages claim against his former neighbour Cassidy Taylor-Memmory on Thursday and communicated his decision on Friday, the Sunday Independent reported.

On Friday, Pistorius lawyer Gary Pritchard told the French news agency Agence France Presse that the parties were holding "confidential" talks to resolve the lawsuit.

In 2009, Taylor-Memmory accused Pistorius of slamming a door on her during a party at his house.

He was arrested and spent a night in jail, but police later dropped the charge.

The case was due to have come before a regional court in Pretoria.

Pritchard declined to say whether his client had retracted his allegations or admitted culpability.

"The merits of the case are no longer relevant, as we are going to settle, and the terms of the settlement will remain confidential," he told the Sunday Independent.

Taylor-Memmory's lawyer Lidene Botha told the publication: "We are in talks, and I am bound by a confidentiality clause."

Pistorius was released on bail of R1m a week ago after prosecutors charged him with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, on St Valentine's Day. He claims to have mistaken her for an intruder in the dead of night.

The assault charge was raised in Pistorius's bail hearing on the murder charges.

The same policeman investigated both cases.

However, Warrant Officer Hilton Botha was pulled from the Steenkamp murder case after it emerged that he himself faced charges of attempted murder for shooting at a minibus taxi.

In 2009, Warrant Officer Hilton Botha rejected Taylor-Memmory's assault claims after investigation.

- SAPA