Gawker.com and Sarah Palin book publisher settle dispute

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in Orlando, Florida October 23, 2010.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's publisher, HarperCollins, and a U.S. news and gossip website have reached a settlement after it posted excerpts of her new book before the planned release.

A Manhattan federal judge had ordered Gawker Media's website www.gawker.com to remove 21 pages it had posted online from Palin's second book "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag," released on Tuesday.

HarperCollins, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, had sued seeking unspecified damages, according to court documents.

Both sides on Wednesday confirmed a settlement, reached late on Tuesday.

"In settling the case, Gawker has agreed to keep the posted material off its website and not to post the material again in the future," HarperCollins spokeswoman Erin Crum said in a statement.

Gawker.com editor Remy Stern said the dispute "generated a good deal of press for Ms. Palin's book in advance of its publication."

"Now that the book is out and destined to appear on the bestseller list, we're pleased that HarperCollins proposed settling this case as is, thus avoiding lengthy litigation for both sides," Stern said.

The former Alaska governor has signaled she may run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, saying last week that she thinks she could beat President Barack Obama.

Palin's first book, "Going Rogue," has sold more than 2.2 million copies and the staunch proponent of the conservative Tea Party movement has begun a 16-stop tour to promote the new book.

The book tour coincides with an eight-part TV series on the TLC network called "Sarah Palin's Alaska," which promotes the scenic wonders of her home state and stars Palin and her family.

(Reporting by Basil Katz, editing By Christine Kearney)