Lawyer: Decade-old suit settled

— -- Former NHL player Steve Moore's long-running lawsuit against Todd Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks has ended with the sides agreeing to an out-of-court settlement, Bertuzzi's lawyer Geoff Adair said Tuesday.

Adair said the sides had reached a "firm and binding settlement" and the case was "settled in its totality."

However, Moore's brother Mark refuted the lawyer's claim the next day to TSN, saying, "I got a text message from Steve last night and he's very concerned. He says there is no deal yet."

Mark Moore said to TSN that his mother and brother's lawyers believe Bertuzzi's legal team is going public in order to put pressure on Steve Moore to finalize a deal. 

"Bertuzzi is a free agent and he wants to sign a contract," Mark Moore told TSN. "They are trying to put on pressure. You see the Canucks have not made a statement."

Adair stood by his original statement when told of Mark Moore's comments, telling ESPN.com on Wednesday that Steve Moore's brother is "not a party to this litigation" and maintaining that the deal was "confirmed in writing, unequivocal and enforceable in court."

Emails to Tim Danson, Moore's lawyer, have not been returned.

Moore was suing Bertuzzi and the Canucks for $38 million for a 2004 on-ice hit by Bertuzzi that ended Moore's career. Then a Colorado Avalanche player, Moore sustained a concussion and three fractured vertebrae and never played again.

According to a report out of Canada earlier this summer, Moore's lawyers sought an increase in damages to $68 million. The case was scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 8.

Moore was on the receiving end of a sucker punch to the head from behind from Bertuzzi that allegedly was made as retribution for a hit made by Moore on Canucks captain Markus Naslund in a previous game. Bertuzzi attacked Moore in a rematch between the teams on March 8, 2004, and left Moore with the broken vertebrae and concussion.

In March, a day before the 10th anniversary of the play, Moore told The Canadian Press he still has headaches and low energy.

"I lost my entire career in my rookie year," he said in recent years. "I think any player put in that situation would do the same thing. I can't recover anything else. I can't recover my career, the experience of living out my dream from the time I was 2½ years old of playing in the NHL."

The 35-year-old Moore is the brother of New York Rangers forward Dominic Moore.

Bertuzzi was suspended by the league 13 regular-season games, plus the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was reinstated 17 months later, after the year-long lockout.

The 39-year-old veteran, played for the Detroit Red Wings for the past five seasons, but the unrestricted free agent remains unsigned for the coming season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.