A lawsuit casting blame for a massive landslide in Maggie Valley four years ago was settled at the 11th hour last week.

A jury pool had been called in, a judge seated on the bench and attorneys on both sides were lined up in preparation for a trial that was two years in the making.

But a last-minute out-of-court settlement was reached between the parties and the jury sent back home.

The suit was filed by a couple whose home was in the path of the landslide. They claimed an extensive retaining wall that snaked a few hundred feet across the face of the mountain at Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park collapsed, triggering the landslide. The couple sued the engineers and builders of the wall, along with the former owners of Ghost Town, for damages.

The settlement has not yet been filed in court. See next week’s issue of The Smoky Mountain News for more on the outcome.