WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A former beauty queen has dropped her lawsuit against a man who posted a story on his Web site alleging that the two had an affair.

In court papers filed May 5, Katy Johnson accused Tucker Max of lying. In the story, the 27-year-old Chicago resident claims he and Johnson, 24, had a sexual relationship.

Johnson, crowned Miss Vermont in 1999 and Miss Vermont USA in 2001 while attending college in the state, argued that Max was using her name and photograph to promote his "career as an authority on 'picking up' women." Max is the author of The Definitive Book of Pick-Up Lines.

Johnson, of Delray Beach, won a temporary order May 6 requiring Max to take down the story and barring him from "disclosing any stories, facts or information, notwithstanding its truth, about any intimate or sexual act" with her.

Johnson filed a notice to dismiss her lawsuit on July 18. Yesterday, the original story was reposted on the Internet.

"She has exposed a Web site which clearly degrades women, and contains false statements about her," her attorney, Michael Santucci, said in an e-mail.

Max thanked his supporters on his Web site.

"Even though I did not like getting sued, I am proud that I was able, in a small way, to serve my country by defending, and ultimately defeating, an egregious attack on the 1st Amendment," Max wrote on www.tuckermax.com.