A former contestant on The Apprentice who accused former President Donald Trump of sexual assault dropped her defamation lawsuit against him Friday.

Summer Zervos sued the then-president in New York state court in 2017, saying he damaged her reputation when he said she and other women alleging sexual assault and harassment were making things up.

Friday’s filing said the case was dismissed and discontinued with prejudice, meaning Ms Zervos could not file the same claim in state court in the future. The filing also said each party was responsible for their own costs.

Ms Zervos accused Mr Trump of kissing and groping her against her will in 2007, speaking of it during the 2016 presidential campaign. He denied the accusations.

Ms Zervos’s lawyers, Beth Wilkinson and Moira Penza, said in statements that “after five years, Ms Zervos no longer wishes to litigate against the defendant and has secured the right to speak freely about her experience”.

“Zervos stands by the allegations in her complaint and has accepted no compensation,” they said.

Mr Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, called Ms Zervos’ decision to drop the case “prudent” in a statement, saying: “She had no choice but to do so as the facts unearthed in this matter made it abundantly clear that our client did nothing wrong.”