KINGS

On the day San Jose General Manager Dean Lombardi was scheduled to testify, Jonathan Liebert accepted an offer believed worth $3 million to settle his lawsuit that stemmed from his being hit in the head with a puck while attending a King-Shark game in 1998 at the Great Western Forum. In Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Aurelio Munoz refused a request by lawyers representing the Sharks, Kings and winger Joe Murphy to clear the courtroom during the Wednesday hearing to announce the settlement.

Munoz did, however, order the terms sealed after the proceedings, and lawyers for both sides refused to confirm either the amount or the terms of the settlement. It is understood that the Sharks, Kings and Murphy did not admit blame.

According to the lawsuit, Liebert was hit in the left temple with a puck the Sharks’ Murphy shot into the crowd after the Kings’ Luc Robitaille scored in the second period of a game on Feb. 6, 1998. Liebert’s lead attorney, Doug Shaffer, called Murphy’s act one of “callousness and frustration.”

Murphy now plays for the Washington Capitals.

Liebert, an honor student who earned his four-year degree from the University of San Diego in two years and worked for a computer firm, suffered what is probably permanent memory and vision damage in the incident, Shaffer said.

On Wednesday, Liebert, 34, looked nervous and refused to discuss the settlement or much about his life since the incident.But he said he was “satisfied with the outcome” of the case.

Liebert said he works part time in computer engineering. A lifelong hockey fan, the said he hasn’t been to a game since he was struck.

At the time of the incident, Liebert was employed in a management position at a data firm with a salary of about $100,000 a year, Shaffer said.

After Liebert was struck, he was taken from the Forum to a nearby hospital, where he was examined and released. The effects of the blow were not realized until about three months later, Shaffer said, and medication was prescribed for post-concussion syndrome.