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Paris Hilton settles defamation lawsuit

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton on Wednesday settled a 10 million U.S. dollars defamation lawsuit brought against her by diamond heiress Zeta Graff, media reported.

Jury selection for a civil trial was due to get underway next Monday, but lawyers for the socialites settled the case during a court hearing in Santa Monica, California, although details of the settlement are unknown.

“Both parties are glad that the matter could be resolved without the time and expense of a trial,” according to a statement released by Graff’s attorney, Bruce Broillet.

In the suit, Graff claimed that Hilton spread “vicious lies” about her to the media in 2005.

According to Graff, Hilton was the source for a story which appeared in the gossip pages of the New York Post claiming that she had attacked her in a London nightclub.

The report said that Graff — who once dated Hilton’s then-fiance, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis — went “berserk” at a nightclub and attempted to strangle Hilton and steal her diamond necklace before being bundled out of the nightclub.

Graff, who had a small role in Luc Besson’s 1997 film “The Fifth Element,” denied the Post report in her lawsuit, saying that Hilton had tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear that she planned to “destroy” her.