LA GRANDE, Ore. — The state police will pay $295,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by hotel chain owner Mark Hemstreet and a friend over hunting violation charges that were thrown out three years ago.

State police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said an OSP employee was disciplined but not fired after an investigation into the case. In a news release Thursday, he said the settlement “was determined to be in the best interests of the state.”

The settlement, reached Nov. 4, resolves a contention by Hemstreet and Gregg Clapper that OSP rushed to file game violation charges involving elk on Jan. 7, 2005, without evidence of wrongdoing.

Hemstreet, 59, owns Shilo Inns in 10 Western states. He also owns 11,000 acres in Wallowa County, including the 9,360-acre Shilo Ranch. In court documents, Hemstreet’s attorney, Rahn D. Hostetter of Enterprise, alleged that OSP wanted “a high-profile case” and was motivated by a desire to punish the conservative for his political activism.

The charges against the Hemstreet were dismissed in December 2006 and the charges against Clapper were dismissed the following month. Three others, including Hemstreet’s son, were convicted as part of the overall investigation.

“You know how Mark and I got through this?” Clapper, 59, told The Oregonian newspaper. “The more they did to us, the angrier it made us and the more determined it made us to make these people accountable.”

The suit filed by Hemstreet and Clapper was scheduled to go to trial in January in Baker County Circuit Court.