Los Angeles: A federal judge in California has dismissed Ashley Judd's sexual harassment lawsuit against tainted Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein on technical grounds as the suit did not fall within the ambit of the statute she sued under.
According to The Daily Beast, judge Philip Gutierrez has, however, let the actor's claims of defamation, economic interference and violation of the state's unfair competition law stand against Weinstein. Judd filed a lawsuit against Weinstein for trying to sabotage her career. She claimed that Weinstein "torpedoed Ms Judd's incredible professional opportunity" to work with Peter Jackson by telling him she was a "nightmare" to work.
Gutierrez initially dismissed the harassment claim because he was sceptical that the statue under which Judd filed the suit could be applied to her case or any other involving a "potential employer and a prospective employee".
The judge permitted the actor to take another go at making an argument for claim but determined that she had not met the bar under California law or a recently enacted amendment to the statute. Gutierrez made it clear that the court is not ruling on the facts of the case, but if the "plaintiff allegedly suffered falls within the scope of the California statute that she has sued under".