The billionaire talk-show mogul was sued by Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane, who was the headmistress of the
Winfrey and Mzamane met privately in
Their lawyers issued a joint statement saying the dispute was ended “”peacefully.”” There was no mention of any financial settlement.
According to the suit, which was filed in 2008, Winfrey suggested during a meeting with parents and a subsequent satellite news conference that Mzamane was not trustworthy and tried to cover up the allegations of abuse.
“”I trusted her,”” Winfrey said of Mzamane during a meeting with parents. “”When I appointed her, I thought she was passionate about the children of
Mzamane said she was not aware of any sexual abuse and later had trouble getting another job after Winfrey’s remarks.
U.S. District Judge
Winfrey, 56, was expected to testify.
An e-mail from Winfrey’s company,
“”The two parties met woman to woman without their lawyers and are happy that they could resolve this dispute peacefully to their mutual satisfaction,”” the statement said.
“”Ms. Winfrey testified in her deposition that she did not intend the implications placed on her words by the plaintiff. Ms. Mzamane testified in her deposition that she has no evidence that Ms. Winfrey knowingly made a false statement about her or entertained serious doubt about the truth of what she said. We are pleased both parties have reached a conclusion.””
The statement was attributed to
McGowan and Reber, who are based in
Reached by phone, Babcock declined to say if Mzamane is being paid by Winfrey to end the suit.
Babcock did say Mzamane’s lawyers are expected to file a document in court Wednesday saying their client wishes to dismiss all of her claims and that the defendants have no objections.
The case was filed in
Mzamane now lives and works in
Virginia “”Tiny”” Makopo, the dorm matron at the Winfrey academy, has pleaded not guilty to charges that she abused students.
In 1998, Winfrey famously beat back a defamation suit filed against her by
The cattle producers contended that Winfrey knowingly made false and disparaging statements about beef on her show in 1996. The cattlemen said Winfrey’s comments caused cattle prices to plummet 11 percent the next day.
That suit was dismissed by a federal judge.
This month, Forbes listed Winfrey’s net worth at