Actor Jude Law has settled his lawsuit against News International over phone hacking.  The star of "Sherlock Holmes" and "The Holiday" is one of nineteen people to receive payouts Thursday after being hacked by staff at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid newspaper.  In the deal announced in court, Law received $200,000 plus attorneys fees.  His ex-wife Sadie Frost also settled for $77,000.

Law was not in court for the proceedings, but a statement by the actor was read in front of a courtroom packed with journalists and lawyers.  In it, Law said his phone was hacked repeatedly between 2003 and 2006, including while he was in the U.S., at JFK airport in New York. "No aspect of my private life was safe from News of the World," he said.  His ex-wife Frost told him she didn't trust him because paparazzi always knew where she would be.

The court heard statements from 18 victims of hacking.  Only one victim, British politician Chris Bryant, appeared in court.  After each statement, News International lawyers admitted the company's guilt, apologized, and announced monetary damages.

News International is not commenting on the settlements.  Legal experts say the company is effectively "waving the white flag" and has no interest in putting the paper's former reporters and editors on the stand.  Of the more than 60 lawsuits filed against the company so far, at least ten still have not been settled and are scheduled for trial February 13 th.

The "Voice Of An Angel" singer Charlotte Church is among the cases still set for trial. She claims the British tabloids ruined her career, relentlessly pursuing her and hacking her phone when she was a teenager.