LOS ANGELES – Nicolas Cage starred in a courthouse drama Tuesday that included negotiating sessions with a judge and ended with the actor settling a multimillion dollar lawsuit with an ex-girlfriend.
The Oscar-winning actor spent more than six hours at a downtown courthouse, repeatedly meeting with the judge who brokered an end to the case filed over payments and a house that Cage's ex-girlfriend claimed she was promised.
Dressed in black suit and tie, Cage faced off with his ex, Christina Fulton, throughout the day. Flanked by deputies he hurriedly walked past her in a hallway when he arrived Tuesday morning and both were apparently present for a final meeting with Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon that solidified the deal.
He did not speak to reporters when he left just as the courthouse was closing at 4:30 p.m.
Fulton sued Cage in December 2009, claiming he owed her $13 million, had ruined her finances and broke a promise to give her a house in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Hancock Park. The payments, Fulton claimed, were in exchange for raising for the couple's son, who is now 20 years old.
Fulton's attorney, K. Lee Crawford Boyd, said the arrangement allowed Cage to become a megastar.
"If Nicolas Cage had to step in and be a parent, he could not be Nicolas Cage," she told the judge.
The actor denied wrongdoing and his attorneys pointed out that the actor paid Fulton $3 million annually to support her and their son.
Tuesday's marathon settlement discussions came after Sanchez-Gordon ruled Tuesday that Fulton couldn't sue Cage for breaching an oral contract to transfer ownership of the Los Angeles house to the former actress, saying the claim was barred by a statute of limitations.
The issue of ownership of the house was one of Fulton's main claims against Cage, although she could have still pursued negligence claims against the actor that he and his former business manager ruined her finances by obtaining credit in her name.
The "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Con Air" star has had his own share of financial woes, with tax liens and other debts forcing him to sell homes and other property.
Sanchez-Gordon urged the parties to reach an agreement, saying it was the "best option for everybody involved."
Boyd said she could not comment on the settlement, but that the case was ended to the "mutual satisfaction" of all parties.
"We're happy it's been resolved," said Cage's attorney, Thomas Dunlap.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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