Harrison Legal Action is Settled

The estate of George Harrison has settled its lawsuit against the US doctor who allegedly pressed the former member of the Beatles to sign a guitar as he lay dying of cancer.

Under the terms of the settlement, the autographed guitar "will be disposed of privately". Harrison's estate will give the doctor's 14-year-old son, who owned the instrument, an unsigned replacement.

The settlement came after allegations that the doctor, Gilbert Lederman, who treated Harrison at the Staten Island hospital, had urged the former Beatle to sign the guitar and two cards, after taking his three children to Harrison's bedside. Harrison had tried to resist, it was alleged, by saying: "I do not even know if I know how to spell my name anymore." It was claimed that Dr Lederman held Harrison's hand as he wrote.

The US judge presiding over the case in Brooklyn, Nicholas Garaufis, encouraged the two sides to resolve the suit. He said: "George Harrison's music spoke to the heart and soul of my generation. I am grateful that the parties have reached an agreement that ... preserves the dignity and protects the privacy of all concerned."

Both sides are prevented from commenting on the dispute. Harrison died in 2001 after suffering lung cancer and a brain tumour. Neither Dr Lederman nor the hospital admit to wrongdoing in the settlement.