Australian rugby league star Jarryd Hayne could be close to settling his civil rape lawsuit in California.
Hayne's US lawyers and the legal team representing the American woman who claims the he sexually assaulted her in 2015 have told US District Court Judge Lucy Koh "the parties are currently in settlement talks and may be close to achieving a resolution of the entire matter".
The new joint filing in the case came before Wednesday's (NZ time) scheduled court appearance before Judge Koh in San Jose.
The judge agreed to push back the next court date to August 14.
Hayne's lawyers and the alleged victim's legal team also pointed to a potential settlement as a reason to extend the deadline for discovery from May 15 to June 25.
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"The parties have discussed and agreed that a brief and limited continuance of the discovery cutoff, from May 15, 2019 to June 25, 2019, will... allow the parties to focus on a settlement of the case," the lawyers wrote.
A planned May 3 deposition of Hayne by the alleged victim's lawyers was also delayed.
The alleged victim, known in court documents as 'JV', claims she was a virgin and heavily intoxicated when she met Hayne at a San Jose bar with friends.
She is seeking "monetary damages".
San Jose police investigated but opted not to file criminal charges against Hayne.
Hayne, who was playing for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers at the time, has rejected her rape claim, saying they "willingly engaged in sexual interaction that did not include sexual intercourse".
'JV' filed the civil lawsuit in California on December 19, 2017, and a jury trial is scheduled for January 27 next year.
AAP
