*The city of Chicago and Jussie Smollett have reached a settlement in a lengthy legal dispute stemming from a 2019 lawsuit over an alleged hate crime that authorities later determined was staged, NBC News reports.
The city first filed the lawsuit against Smollett in April 2019, seeking to recover $130,000 in investigative costs after claiming the actor knowingly submitted a false police report regarding a hate-fueled attack he alleged occurred on January 29 of that year in the city’s Streeterville neighborhood.
Smollett, who is Black and gay, told police he was assaulted by two men hurling racist and homophobic slurs. But the case quickly unraveled after brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo were detained and later alleged that Smollett paid them $3,500 to carry out the fake attack. Police backed their claims, concluding Smollett staged the incident to boost his public profile.
While the city pursued its civil case to recoup expenses, Smollett filed a countersuit denying any wrongdoing and maintaining that the attack was real. As of Monday, both parties informed the court that they had reached a resolution but requested additional time to finalize documentation. Specific terms of the settlement have not been disclosed publicly.
A status hearing scheduled for this week has been postponed to May 29, according to court records.
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The legal saga has seen numerous twists, including Smollett’s initial criminal charges being dropped by Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, only for a special prosecutor to later revive the case. In December 2021, he was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced in 2022 to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation.
However, in a major turn last year, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that Smollett had a nonprosecution agreement in place that should have prevented the renewed charges. With this latest development, the long-running dispute between the actor and the city may finally be drawing to a close.
MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Jussie Smollett’s Conviction for Falsely Reporting Hate Crime
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