One of the lawsuits against "Three Cups of Tea" author is dropped

(CBS/AP) HELENA, Mont. - One of the two lawsuits against "Three Cups of Tea" author Greg Mortenson has been dropped.

That leaves just one suit by a Montana woman and man claiming damages from alleged fabrications in the book by the Bozeman, Mont., author.

Mortenson's publisher, Penguin Group, had asked the federal Judicial Panel of Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate the two cases and move them to New York City. But the attorney for Illinois plaintiff Deborah Netter said in a letter to the panel that the request is moot after Netter dropped her case Friday.

Her attorney, Larry Drury, declined to say Wednesday why Netter pulled out.

Montana plaintiffs Jean Price and Dan Donovan claim they and millions of others were induced to buy Mortenson's books and donate to his charity based on false statements.

In report that aired in April on "60 Minutes," correspondent Steve Kroft raised questions about the accuracy of several anecdotes in the book and interviewed sources who claimed the charities Mortenson runs in Afghanistan are mismanaged.