Stormy Daniels settles suit against Michael Cohen

LOS ANGELES — Adultfilm actress Stormy Daniels has agreed to drop the last of three lawsuits that her former attorney Michael Avenatti filed in the scandal stemming from her alleged one-night stand with Donald Trump.

“She’s ready to move on and put these cases behind her,” said Daniels’ attorney, Jason H. Tokoro.

Her last lawsuit accused Mr. Trump’s former personal counsel Michael Cohen of colluding with her own onetime attorney Keith Davidson to undercut her interests when they negotiated a $130,000 payment to keep her silent about the alleged affair.

Mr. Trump approved the payment days before his election in 2016, according to Cohen, who pleaded guilty last year to a campaign finance felony for orchestrating the deal.

Lawyers for Daniels, Cohen and Mr. Davidson all signed a notice of settlement, filed Thursday in state Superior Court in Santa Monica.

Daniels agreed to drop her suit against Mr. Davidson with no payment by either side. Mr. Davidson, who is based in Beverly Hills, called the suit “frivolous.”

“I had no allegiance to anyone in this case except my client whom I always vigorously advocated for,” he said. “I’m glad that the injurious and libelous smear campaign against me is over.”

Mr. Davidson initially cast the lawsuit as a publicity stunt by Mr. Avenatti to divert attention from his law firm bankruptcy and his alleged tax delinquency.

Mr. Avenatti, who replaced Mr. Davidson as Daniels’ attorney in early 2018, is now awaiting trial on federal charges of extortion, bank fraud, perjury, failure to pay taxes, embezzlement from clients and other financial crimes.

Terms of Daniels’ settlement with Cohen, who is serving a three-year prison sentence, were not disclosed. Cohen’s lawyer, Brent Blakely, did not respond to a request for comment.