LONDON - Nicolas Cage has settled a libel suit in a London court against Kathleen Turner, who falsely claimed in her autobiography that he had twice been arrested for drunken driving and had stolen a dog.

Neither of the stars attended the hearing at Britain's High Court, where Turner's lawyer, book publisher and the Daily Mail, which ran an excerpt, all apologized to Cage and offered to make a substantial donation to a charity of his choice.

Cage's lawyer Simon Smith dismissed as "utter falsity" a section of Turner's book "Send Yourself Roses," describing the actors' experience working together on the set of the movie "Peggy Sue Got Married" in 1986.

In the passage Turner, 53, said her co-star, 44, was "arrested twice for drunk-driving and, I think, for stealing a dog. He'd come across a Chihuahua he liked and stuck it in his jacket."

Turner, Headline Publishing Group and Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers now accept that, owing to a mistake on Turner's part and despite the other defendants' publishing in good faith, the allegations were defamatory and false, Smith said.

All three agreed to pay Cage's legal costs and make the charitable donation, Smith said.