The 55-year-old actor had been due to go to court in a wrongful death case in April after been accused by Cathriona White’s mother Brigid Sweetman and estranged husband Mark Burton of giving his girlfriend three sexually-transmitted diseases and providing the drugs used by the make-up artist when she took her own life in September 2015, but it has now been revealed the allegations have been dismissed.
A spokesperson for the ‘Mask’ star confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter the matters were dismissed on January 25 but had no comment to make beyond saying Jim is looking forward to moving on with his life now.
And Michael Avenatti, the attorney acting for Brigid and Mark issued a brief statement on their behalf.
It read: “We have no further comment at this time.”
The development comes a few months after Jim filed a countersuit against his accusers, insisting they were trying to extort him.
He wrote on Twitter: “There’s a lot of news coming out today. This is my statement on the matter.”
He included a note, which read: “Today I filed a cross-complaint against Filippo Marchino, The X-Law Group, Mark Burton and Brigid Sweetman. Unfortunately, I made the mistake three years ago of giving in and settling false claims made against me by Mr. Marchino, on behalf of Cat, as mounting a public defense is a very costly and painful process. At the time I felt Cat was being exploited by Marchino.
“Since this new case was filed, I have discovered the depth of deception behind those false claims, the kind of deception decent people fall for, because to us, such behaviour is unimaginable. I will not give in a second time to these same fraudulent charges initiated by Cat’s husband in name but not substance Mark Burton, and her estranged mother. Nor am I responsible for what these desperate characters have inadvertently unearthed about the woman I adored. I was clearly blinded by my affection. Regardless, I will hold a place of empathy, and forgiveness for Cat and continue to focus on the many blessings in this life.”
In his filing, Jim claimed that between March and August 2013, Cathriona, with her lawyer Marchino’s help, threatened to “go to the press” with false claims that he had given her STDs unless he paid her “millions of dollars.”
