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 Attorneys for Cruise and Bauer Publishing Company, which
publishes U.S. celebrity magazines Life & Style and InTouch
Weekly, agreed to have the lawsuit dismissed, with each paying
their own costs and attorneys' fees, according to a document
filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The actor's attorneys said in a statement that Cruise and Bauer
settled the dispute and that the publishing company "never
intended to communicate that Tom Cruise had cut off all ties and
abandoned his daughter, Suri, and regret if anyone drew that
inference from anything they published."
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and are confidential,
the statement said.
Bauer's attorneys were not immediately available to comment.
Cruise's lawsuit, which also alleged invasion of privacy, gave a
glimpse into the "Mission: Impossible" actor's tightly guarded
private life, including his divorce from Holmes and his
Scientology religion.
The case was scheduled to head to trial in June 2014.
In a declaration filed in federal court last month, Cruise
denied that he had cut his 7-year-old daughter out of his life,
"whether physically, emotionally, financially or otherwise."
The initial lawsuit was filed by Cruise in October 2012, after
Bauer's magazines published reports claiming Cruise, 51, had
abandoned Suri following his 2012 divorce from Holmes.
"'Has he chosen Scientology over Suri for good? Abandoned by
Daddy.' I mean come on, that is absolutely disgusting. That is
absolutely disgusting," Cruise said according to a transcript of
a September video deposition.
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Cruise added that one of Holmes' "assertions" for their 2012 divorce
was that she wanted to protect Suri from Scientology and that his
only daughter from his marriage to Holmes was not currently
practicing the religion.
Cruise also said in the deposition that while Holmes, 35, was a
practitioner of Scientology before and during their six-year
marriage, she left the church when she filed for divorce.
The actor is one of the highest-profile members of Scientology, a
religion founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1954.
Its followers, which also include actor John Travolta, believe
humans are immortal beings whose existence extends beyond one
lifetime. Critics of the church describe it as a cult that harasses
people who try to quit.
Actress Leah Remini was one of the most prominent celebrities to
leave the Church of Scientology earlier this year, and has spoken
out about being cut off by many friends due to her decision.
(Editing by Sandra Maler and Eric Walsh)
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