Paula Abdul’s Driveway Lawsuit Ends With $1 Million Settlement

Paula Abdul has agreed to pay $900,000 to a woman who suffered a bad fall during the filming of the former American Idol judges short lived reality TV series Hey Paula.

The accident occurred in 2007 and the lawsuit was filed in 2009 after Jill Kohl claimed she had to undergo several back surgeries as a direct result from her tumble.

Not only did Paula Abdul agree to pay that huge sum, Hey Paula production company Scott Sternberg Productions has agreed to throw in an additional $100,000 for a total $1 million payday.

A trial date was set for Feb. 14 but Kohl’s lawyer Robert Rodriguez Clayton was able to broker a deal before that occurred. According to the singers team it was Abdul’s insurance company that took the lead in settling the case. According to attorney Vicki Greco:

“Absolutely no monies of the settlement will be paid by Paula Abdul. All monies agreed to be paid to Jill Kohl as part of the settlement will be funded by the parties’ respective insurance carriers. While a settlement was reached between the parties in the case, we were confident that she would prevail at trial. The decision to settle the case was a business decision made solely by Ms. Abdul’s insurance carrier.”

It’s a small win for Paula Abdul, then again it hasn’t quite been her year with Simon Cowell firing her from the X Factor along with singer Nicole Scherzinger.

The lawsuit settlement seemed to be the last thing on Paula Abdul’s mind yesterday when she tweeted:

“Having a blast on @RoyalCaribbean Oasis of the Seas this week :)) so many cool things to do plenty of sunshine!!”

Are you surprised by the $1 million settlement? I’m mostly surprised that it took more than two years to reach this point.