ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Archdiocese of St. Louis has dropped a lawsuit against a law firm that represents clients in clergy sexual abuse cases.

The archdiocese had filed suit against Chackes, Carlson, Spritzer and Ghio last month seeking relief against disclosure of archdiocesan personnel and medical records to third parties.

The suit alleged that one of those parties was the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. An editor for the Post-Dispatch previously noted the newspaper was not a party in the lawsuit, and the newspaper did not indicate if it had received documents.

The church withdrew the lawsuit Monday before a hearing called to discuss whether Archbishop Raymond Burke would have to testify under oath in a deposition for the case.

The archdiocese said in a statement, "After discussing the issue with attorneys representing the Chackes law firm, we believe that our point of protecting the integrity of the mediation process has been understood and that we can proceed with the mediation of additional claims."

Gerry Greiman, an attorney representing the firm, said, "We've always felt this case had no merit. I can only assume based on the archdiocese's actions today that they agree."

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch: www.stltoday.com