( CNN ) -- A woman to woman talk between Oprah Winfrey and the former head of her South African girls school ended with the settlement of a defamation lawsuit against the talk show host , their lawyers said . Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane sued Winfrey , contending she defamed Mzamane when talking about an abuse scandal at the school she ran in 2007 . The case was set for trial in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , starting March 29 . `` The two parties met woman to woman without their lawyers and are happy that they could resolve this dispute peacefully to their mutual satisfaction , '' the attorneys said in a joint statement Tuesday . Mzamane was immediately suspended and later fired after several students at Winfrey 's South African leadership academy complained about abuse . A dorm mother was later charged with abusing and assaulting students . The lawsuit contended that Winfrey 's statements at a private meeting with parents , which later became public , and at a news conference defamed the headmistress by implying she knew of the abuse and covered it up . Mzamane said the abuse complaints were never brought to her and that Winfrey never let her explain . `` Ms. Winfrey testified in her deposition that she did not intend the implications placed on her words by the plaintiff , '' the joint statement said . `` Ms. Mzamane testified in her deposition that she has no evidence that Ms. Winfrey knowingly made a false statement about her or entertained serious doubt about the truth of what she said . '' U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno ruled a week ago that Winfrey 's comments could potentially be interpreted by a jury to be defamatory . The decision cleared the path for a trial . The suit quoted Winfrey telling parents that `` any person that has caused harm '' to students would be let go . In the next sentence , Winfrey said she fired Mzamane because she had lost confidence in her ability to run the school . Winfrey also told the parents that when students brought their complaints to the headmistress , she `` had not taken them seriously , '' the suit said . The suit said one Winfrey quote cited suggested Mzamane , a native of the African kingdom of Lesotho , did not have a high-enough level of care for the students : . `` It was my intention by putting somebody in charge who was African , and was female , I believed that she would care as much for these girls as I do myself . I 'm sorry I was let down . '' Mzamane 's suit said the damage to her reputation resulted in her not being able to get another education job for a year . When Winfrey opened the school at the beginning of 2007 , she said she hoped it would provide opportunities to girls from poor backgrounds . She personally approved each of the students , many of whom were at the top of their classes .
The talk show host attended a girls leadership conference in South Africa in 2007 . Lerato - Mzamane was suspended , later fired after receiving complaints of harassment . She claimed in lawsuit that Oprah Winfrey has defamed her . The two women meet without their lawyers and agree to the lawsuit .