Former Viking Dalvin Cook, ex-girlfriend settle lawsuit for unspecified amount

Former Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has settled a Dakota County District Court lawsuit in which Gracelyn Trimble, a former girlfriend, accused him of giving her a concussion and holding her hostage at his Inver Grove Heights home, according to court documents.

A hearing was set for the matter Tuesday before Judge Jamie Cork in Hastings, but court documents said the session was canceled because the case had been settled and closed. In recent months a trial date had been repeatedly postponed with the most recent start set for early June.

The case now shows up in public records as closed and settled, but no additional documentation is provided. Neither Trimble’s lawyer Jenny Olson nor Terry Moore, who represents Cook, returned calls or messages.

In her lawsuit, Trimble didn’t initially say how much she was seeking from Cook. A now-sealed court filing obtained by the Star Tribune last summer indicated that Cook offered her $800,000 and then $1 million to settle her claims. At the time, Cook was seeking to bar testimony at trial of his proposed settlement offers.

Trimble was 29 when she filed the lawsuit against Cook in November 2021. Trimble said she had flown to Minnesota and gone to Cook’s home in November 2020 to retrieve her things after a breakup.

In response, Cook’s lawyers said he was the victim, that the two were in a short-term relationship and Trimble broke into his house and became physically aggressive toward him.

In her lawsuit, Trimble claimed that Cook got angry when she asked for his help in gathering her things. Cook “grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open.”

She attempted to spray mace at Cook, but he overpowered her and the mace went into her eyes, the lawsuit said. She went to shower when she was allegedly assaulted again.

Then Trimble went into the bedroom, grabbed Cook’s gun and called her friend, according to the lawsuit. Cook overheard her and threatened her, then beat her with a broomstick, the suit claims. Cook took her to the airport the next morning.

A month after Trimble filed the personal injury lawsuit, Cook filed a defamation and fraud claim against Trimble and her lawyers in Hennepin County District Court. Named in the suit were attorney Daniel Cragg, a partner at Eckland & Blando, and attorney Anne St. Amant, a senior associate at the same law firm. That case is still pending before Judge Joseph Klein.

Motions in the case are due no later than October 2024, but a trial date has not been set.

Cook no longer plays for the Vikings. The team released him in June 2023. He played last season for the New York Jets and then the Baltimore Ravens.