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Report: Bertuzzi-Moore case settled out of court (Update: Bertuzzi’s lawyer confirms)

Bertuzzi Moore

Sounds as though one of the NHL’s longest-running sagas has come to an end.

The Steve Moore-Todd Bertuzzi civil suit, which began eight years ago, has been settled out of court, according to reports from Sportsnet and ESPN. The move comes roughly one month prior to the start of civil trial, which was expected to begin sometime in September and set to feature a number of high-ranking NHL officials -- commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly were prepared to testify, and former Canucks owner John McCaw had been ordered to take the stand.

UPDATE: Bertuzzi’s lawyer confirmed that a settlement has been reached, per the Canadian Press.

It was also possible that a slew of NHL players, coaches and front-office executives could’ve been called to testify.

At the moment, it’s unclear what financial settlement Bertuzzi and Moore agreed upon. Back in early July, reports broke that the former Colorado Avalanche forward was seeking $68 million in damages — up from $38 million — stemming from a 2004 on-ice attack in which Bertuzzi jumped Moore from behind and slammed him to the ice.

Moore suffered a concussion and three fractured vertebrae in the wake of the attack, and hasn’t played hockey since.

More, from CBC:

“Steve Moore is unable to obtain employment commensurate to anywhere near his high intellect and Harvard degree,” Danson told the court, referring to reports by career experts he has filed.

But the lawyer for Orca Bay, the former owner of the Vancouver Canucks, argued otherwise.

Alan D’Silva referred to applications Moore made to the Harvard and Stanford MBA programs in 2010 in which Moore writes about receiving $104,000 for work.

Moore wrote the Graduate Management Admissions Test as part of his applications and scored in the 88th percentile.

Danson countered that this was a family business deal and Moore’s role was minimal.

“It’s not income from employment in the normal way,” said Danson.

Regarding the dollar figures, it’s worth noting that in February of 2012, Bertuzzi signed a two-year, $4.15 million contract extension with the Detroit Red Wings -- a deal that bumped his career earnings to $47 million (per CapGeek). That contract expired on July 1, however, and Bertuzzi is now currently an unsigned UFA.