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Daughter’s suit against ‘Deadliest Catch’ star can proceed

Celebrity fishing boat captain Sig Hansen has paid an undisclosed sum of money to get an Uber driver to drop a lawsuit stemming from Hansen’s assault of the driver after a night of drinking in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood last year. (File photo)

SEATTLE – The Washington state Court of Appeals has ruled that a civil lawsuit brought against celebrity crab-boat captain Sig Hansen by his daughter can proceed.

SeattlePI.com reported the Division I Court of Appeals ruled Monday upholding a judge’s 2017 decision to deny Hansen’s motion to dismiss the case.

A 2016 lawsuit filed by his estranged daughter Melissa Eckstrom accuses Hansen of sexually abusing her in 1990 when she was about 2 years old. Now a family-law attorney in Seattle, Eckstrom claims that the alleged abuse led to major emotional problems.

The 52-year-old “Deadliest Catch” star who lives near Seattle has vehemently denied the accusations and said Monday that he would appeal the ruling.

Eckstrom’s lawsuit echoes allegations Hansen’s ex-wife leveled in 1990 during a custody battle. After a trial in 1992, a King County judge found that Hansen hadn’t abused Eckstrom.

Records show police arrested Hansen in 1990 but prosecutors declined to file charges citing proof problems.