Lucasfilm and Pixar have settled a class-action lawsuit alleging they were part of a Silicon Valley conspiracy to not poach workers from rival companies, according to a federal judge's order filed on Sunday.

In a brief order, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh indicated she has received a letter from lawyers in the case disclosing the two companies have settled their part of the hotly contested case, leaving five companies in the litigation. The order did not disclose the terms of the settlement.

There was no indication in the order that the other companies defending the anti-poaching claims have likewise settled. The lawsuit alleges that by agreeing not to poach from rivals' workforces, the companies doused competition, costing employees a chance to jump to better, higher-paying jobs in the valley's competitive job market.

The remaining companies facing the anti-poaching allegations are Apple (AAPL), Intel (INTC), Intuit (INTU), Google (GOOG) and Adobe (ADBE). The companies are accused in the lawsuit of cutting deals with each other to not hire away their coveted employees, particularly in the engineering ranks.

In previous orders, Koh has indicated that lawyers for an estimated 100,000 employees impacted by the case have presented strong evidence that top executives, including late Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, had side assurances to steer clear of raiding rival workforces. The companies have repeatedly denied the allegations.

The companies did settle a similar case with the U.S. Justice Department several years ago. The federal government has a separate case pending against eBay (EBAY) involving the identical anti-poaching legal claims.

The case before Koh is expected to go to trial next year if the remaining five companies do not settle.
