Ovitz, Burkle settle Web deal lawsuit

Ex-Walt Disney Co. president and Hollywood power broker Michael Ovitz settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit involving online business opportunities that he filed against billionaire supermarket mogul Ronald W. Burkle, an attorney said.

A resolution was reached last weekend, Eric M. George, who represents Ovitz, said Thursday. He declined to reveal terms.

Trial had been scheduled to begin Aug. 4.

A call to attorney Russell F. Sauer, who represents Burkle, was not returned Friday.

The legal dispute began when Burkle sued Ovitz in 2005, claiming that the co- founder of Creative Artists Agency Inc. broke a verbal agreement made in the 1990s to pool their money on online ventures.

A federal judge dismissed Burkle’s suit in March, saying the agreement was too vague to enforce and that the men never had a formal partnership.

In his countersuit, Ovitz denied having a verbal agreement. However, if a jury were to find that there had been a deal, Ovitz asserted, Burkle broke it by excluding him from numerous deals.