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LOS ANGELES - A judge has dismissed a hit-and-run case against pop star Britney Spears after her lawyer revealed an out-of-court settlement was reached with the person whose car she struck in a parking lot.
But the 25-year-old performer is still on the hook for a misdemeanour count of driving without a valid licence in connection with the Aug. 6 fender bender in Los Angeles, said City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan.
Spears' attorney today entered a not guilty plea on her behalf for that charge. She was not in court and is not required to be present for the next hearing, set for November 26.
Spears had faced up to six months in jail and a $US1000 ($NZ1350) fine on each of the two counts she was originally charged with. But the judge agreed to drop the hit-and-run case once the civil claim stemming from the incident was resolved, Mateljan said.
Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Video footage on TMZ.com of Spears' auto mishap shows her driving a convertible into a parked Mercedes-Benz, then asking bystanders if she "hurt" the other car before walking away without leaving a note. She was charged a month later.
Mateljan said a first-time conviction for driving without a license would typically result in probation and a fine, not jail time.
Spears' one-time nightclub cohort, socialite Paris Hilton, served three weeks in jail earlier this year for driving on a suspended license in violation of probation for a prior drunken-driving case.
Spears was due in court on Friday for a hearing in her ongoing custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline. She was reported earlier this week to have regained visitation rights to the couple's two young sons.
- REUTERS
