U.S. judge dismisses Ashley Judd's sex
harassment claim against Weinstein
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[January 10, 2019]
By Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal judge in
Los Angeles on Wednesday dismissed actress Ashley Judd's sexual
harassment claim against movie producer Harvey Weinstein but said she
could proceed with a defamation claim against him.
Judd had accused Weinstein of defaming her in 1998 after she refused
what she said were his sexual advances a year earlier.
In her lawsuit, filed in April 2018, the "Double Jeopardy" actress
accused Weinstein of smearing her reputation by discouraging director
Peter Jackson from casting her in his blockbuster movie franchise "The
Lord of the Rings."
Judd, one of the first women in October 2017 to publicly accuse
Weinstein of sexual misconduct, had accused the Hollywood movie mogul of
sexual harassment in violation of a California law barring such conduct
by a person in a "business, service or professional relationship" with
another.
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In a footnote to his ruling, U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez said
he was not determining whether Judd was sexually harassed by Weinstein
"in the colloquial sense of the term."
But Gutierrez said that Judd's relationship as an actress with the film
producer was not covered under the California statute she had sued
under, nor under a 2019 amendment.
“We have said from the beginning that this claim was unjustified, and we
are pleased that the court saw it as we did. We believe that we will
ultimately prevail on her remaining claims,” Weinstein's lawyer, Phyllis
Kupferstein, said in a statement.
But Judd's attorney, Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., said that this ruling
does not upend Judd's complaint.
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![](../images/011019PICS/news_n25.jpg)
Actress Ashley Judd speaks at the Milken Institute's 21st Global
Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. April 30, 2018.
REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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“Nothing about today’s ruling changes that Ms. Judd’s case is moving
forward on multiple claims," Boutrous said in a statement late
Wednesday.
"We look forward to pursuing the three claims for relief that the
Court has already ruled can move forward,” he also said.
Weinstein is to stand trial in May in New York on five charges,
including rape, involving two other women.
The disgraced Hollywood producer of movies like "Shakespeare in
Love" has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 70 women.
He has denied the accusations, saying any sexual encounters were
consensual.
Judd's lawsuit had alleged Weinstein "cornered her in a hotel room
in 1997 under the guise of discussing business." When she refused
his demands, he retaliated by making what she called "baseless
smears" against her to "Lord of the Rings" director Jackson, and she
lost a part in the movie.
Weinstein denied defaming Judd or interfering with her career.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; additional reporting by Rich McKay;
Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Grant McCool
and Lisa Shumamker)
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