The province's former chief medical examiner has discontinued a defamation lawsuit she filed against former justice minister Jonathan Denis.

Dr. Anny Sauvageau sued Denis personally in September because of statements he made on a local Edmonton radio station that she claimed were false and defamatory.

She also sued the ministry because of statements it made in a news release. That lawsuit is continuing. None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Sauvageau's lawyer, Allan Garber, said his client decided to focus on a separate wrongful dismissal lawsuit against Alberta Justice.

Garber said Denis, as the former justice minister, will still be examined as a witness in the wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed in February by Sauvageau against Alberta Justice. But Denis is no longer a defendant in that lawsuit.

Sauvageau alleges her contract was not renewed after she stood up to political pressure to change a contract for transporting dead bodies for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Alberta.

In its statement of defence, Alberta Justice alleges Sauvageau's lawsuit is frivolous and that she was confrontational, disrespectful and overstepped her authority. In response, Sauvageau pointed out she had excellent performance appraisals.

None of the allegations in either the statement of claim or the statement of defence have been proven in court.