Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment case against Harvey Weinstein has been dismissed on a technicality
Disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexually harassing and assaulting dozens of women, finally faces legal consequences. On December 20th, he appeared in criminal court, where a judge ruled that his case will proceed to trial. But not all of the charges brought against Weinstein have stuck. Yesterday, January 9th, a federal judge dismissed Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment claims against the former producer…for a legal technicality.
CNN reports that U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled that Judd’s case did not meet the legal definition of sexual harassment under California civil code at the time she filed the complaint. According to California Civil Code 51.9, which Gutierrez cited in his ruling (per Deadline.com), there “must be a business, service, or professional relationship” between plaintiffs and defendants for something to be considered sexual harassment. As CNN notes, the law did not cover relationships with directors or producers until September 2018—nearly a year after Judd filed her sexual harassment charges.
In a footnote, Gutierrez also stressed that his decision does not reflect whether or not Judd was harassed in general, but rather if the situation constituted workplace sexual harassments given the specific guidelines of the term and the laws.
"The Court makes clear that it is not determining whether Plaintiff was sexually harassed in the colloquial sense of the term," he wrote in his decision. "The only question presented by the current motion is whether the harassment that Plaintiff allegedly suffered falls within the scope of the California statute that she has sued under."
Federal judge tosses out @AshleyJudd sexual harassment claim against #HarveyWeinstein on a procedural reading of Cali statute but case for defamation & more continues, with trial in 2020 https://t.co/gJmu9rw2mT
— Dominic Patten (@DeadlineDominic) January 10, 2019
Even though Judd’s sexual harassment case has been dismissed, the judge did rule that she could proceed with her defamation suit against Weinstein, in which she claimed that he told Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson she was a “nightmare” to work with after she rejected his advances, which ultimately may have cost her millions in earning potential.
In a statement to Deadline, Judd’s lawyer, Ted Boutrous, remained determined.
"Nothing about today’s ruling changes that Ms. Judd’s case is moving forward on multiple claims," he said.
The legal battles against Weinstein are far from over, and we’ll be watching as they move forward.
