LOS ANGELES – Nicolas Cage met with a judge Tuesday to try to settle a lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend over money and a house she claims the Oscar-winner promised her.
Cage walked past ex-girlfriend Christina Fulton on his way into a conference with Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanchez-Gordon, who urged attorneys handling the case to try to reach a settlement before trial. He and his attorneys were in chambers for roughly 90 minutes before Fulton and her lawyers were called before the judge.
The judge 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 former actress sued Cage in December 2009 for $13 million, claiming he broke a promise to care for her and their adult son.
Fulton's attorney, K. Lee Crawford Boyd, said Cage promised to provide the home and support payments to her client so he could become a megastar.
"If Nicolas Cage had to step in and be a parent, he could not be Nicolas Cage," she told the judge.
Fulton has said she was coerced into signing financial agreements with Cage, claims the actor and his attorneys have denied. She also sought Tuesday to amend her lawsuit and add new claims against the actor, but Sanchez-Gordon rejected that effort.
The judge urged the parties to not treat the case as a rehash of a private paternity case they previously settled.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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