Attorneys for Paula Deen, Bubba Heirs, and Lisa Jackson signed a deal today to end Jackson’s lawsuit against Deen in Savannah, Georgia today.
Judge William T. Moore still needs to sign the deal to make it official. If he does, then Jackson will not be able to bring the same lawsuit against Deen and Heirs.
The judge dealt a blow to the case two weeks ago when he dismissed Jackson’s allegations of racial discrimination because she had no legal standing to sue on that issue.
Deen is more than happy to put this lawsuit behind her, the The Associated Press reports.
Jackson issued a statement as well. She told the The Associated Press that she thought that Deen knew about her concerns, but learned otherwise as part of the trial.
Even though the case has been dismissed, the damage to Deen’s reputation may be done. Since the case has been dismissed, none of the parties will have to testify in court. That testimony could have cleared the air of suspicion surrounding Deen once for all.
"It (the race-based claims) wasn't dropped because it wasn't true, it was dropped because of the race of the person in the claim," Howard Bragman, the vice chairman of Reputation.com told USA Today .