A lawyer for Philip Seymour Hoffman's pal David Bar Katz has threatened to sue a man who posed as the playwright and sensationally alleged he had been engaged in a secret love affair with the tragic actor.

Bar Katz, the person who discovered the Oscar winner's body at his New York home on 2 February (14), filed a libel lawsuit against editors at America's National Enquirer tabloid after they published the headline-grabbing claims.

They reached a settlement this week (begs24Feb14), when bosses at parent company American Media Incorporated agreed to publish a formal apology in the New York Times and fund the creation of a foundation to aid aspiring playwrights.

As a result, Bar Katz filed papers to dismiss his $50 million (£31.25 million) lawsuit on Tuesday (25Feb14), but his legal battles aren't over - the namesake who made the false romance allegations to the Enquirer has since spoken out, admitting to the New York Post that he had been drunk when he took the call from a reporter who had mistaken him for the playwright.

However, David Katz's confession has landed the New Jersey resident in trouble with Bar Katz's lawyer Judd Burstein, who is determined to seek vengeance.

The attorney tells the New York Times, "My goal is to have him living out of a cardboard box.

"People go to jail for drunk driving. He is going to lose everything for talking drunk."

Hoffman was found dead at his New York City home on 2 February (14) following a suspected drug overdose.