Update at 12:41 p.m.: Strauss-Kahn’s legal team, which originally declined to comment on the reports of a possible settlement, are now denying that there’s been one, although they say that their client has “discussed a resolution.” Reports that originated with French media that the former IMF chief may pay $6 million to settle are “flatly false” his lawyers now tell Bloomberg.
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Original Post at 9:30 a.m.: Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the New York City hotel housekeeper who accused him of sexually assaulting her last year have reportedly reached a tentative agreement to settle her civil lawsuit against him.
While the deal is not yet final, French media have pegged the likely payout at about $6 million.
Here’s the Associated Press with the details:
Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and the housekeeper, Nafissatou Diallo, made the as-yet-unsigned agreement within recent days, with Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon facilitating that and a separate agreement to end another lawsuit Diallo filed against the New York Post, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private agreement. A court date is expected next week, though the day wasn’t set, the person said.
Strauss-Kahn lawyer William W. Taylor III declined to comment. Lawyers for the housekeeper didn’t immediately respond to phone and email messages.
Assuming the deal goes through, it will bring an end to the roughly 18-month saga that began last May when Diallo accused DSK of the assault in a high-end New York City hotel. After originally arresting Strauss-Kahn, the state eventually dropped the charges out of concerns about his accuser’s credibility.
