Two years after Laura Helm initially filed a lawsuit against Usher accusing him of exposing her to herpes, the parties appear to have settled the case.
Helm filed to dismiss the $20 million lawsuit last week, according to documents obtained by TMZ. The filing states Usher and Helm have “reached an amicable resolution.” But both parties refused to confirm the financial details of the settlement.
Helm’s filing was made with prejudice, which means she is forbidden from hitting the singer with another lawsuit based on the same accusations. When a case is dismissed with prejudice, that indicates either the plaintiff or the defendant prevailed on the suit’s merits or the parties settled the claim, according to Rocklin, California-based discrimination attorney Alice Baker.
When TMZ heard from the singer’s attorney as well as the lawyer for his former accuser, both litigators emphasized it was a “amicable” decision.
Helm first accused Usher of exposing her to herpes simplex virus 2 in a 2017 suit. That was later dismissed without prejudice, which allowed her to file it again in a Fulton County, Georgia, court in April 2018. She claimed Usher infected her when they had unprotected sex.
In the filing, Helm alleged, “as a result of the sexual relationship with the Herpes SV2 stricken defendant, Plaintiff herself, was infected with the incurable disease and forced to live with not only the health effects of the incurable disease but also the stigma that is associated with it.”
Helm said in the suit that at first, she had protected sex with Usher at his Atlanta home in 2017. But then, when they met up in New Orleans two weeks later, no protection was used, according to the filing. A few days later, Helm alleged, she found a bump inside her cheek and a painful pea-sized bump on her vulva. Feeling worried upon reading articles about the “No Limit” singer’s herpes status, she sought treatment and discovered she had contracted the sexually transmitted infection.
Helm claimed Usher had not denied he had herpes and that he initiated having unprotected sex against her will.
Afterward, Usher fought against her claims and moved to have it dismissed in September 2018, claiming Helm should have assumed the risks of having sex sans protection. He also argued Helm did not prove he was the one who infected her with HSV2 and put the blame on her for not having condoms when the pair initially had sex. However, Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe denied Usher’s request for dismissal.
Now that the case is currently behind him, however, it marks the second win of sorts in the herpes cases against the performer. Usher previously had a complaint from an anonymous male accuser withdrawn in December 2018. However, Quantasia Sharpton’s accusations still loom.
