Matthew Fox lawsuit dismissed

A Cleveland bus driver's lawsuit against "Lost" star Matthew Fox has been dismissed, and Fox's countersuit withdrawn.

"The suit was dismissed about a month ago," J. Norman Stark, attorney for bus driver Heather Bormann, told Newsday after reports surfaced Thursday about her withdrawing a lawsuit alleging that a drunken Fox, 45, hit her repeatedly in August when he tried to board a privately chartered party bus. Stark did not know why the dismissal, which was noted on the court docket immediately, had gone unnoticed until Thursday.

Fox in November countersued for slander and battery, demanding $50,000 in damages plus legal fees.

"I had to withdraw from the case because I had difficulty communicating with my client," Stark said. "I could not reach her at times, and she would not respond to my calls about needing certain information. And also, to defend against the counterclaim would take time and money she couldn't afford. She's a single mother with two children, and they were really threatening her with that kind of action. They kept pursuing her, saying, 'We're going to follow up with this counterclaim. You dismiss your case and we'll dismiss ours.' "

Neither Fox's attorney, Ian Friedman, nor his spokeswoman returned Newsday's calls for comment.

News of the dismissal came days after Fox's "Lost" co-star, Dominic Monaghan, tweeted on Sunday that Fox "beats women. not isolated incidents. often." Monaghan, who was responding to a fan's inquiry regarding Fox, made clear he was not joking when another tweeter brought up that possibility.

TMZ.com said Thursday that Fox's camp denied he has ever beaten a woman.