Judge Philip Gutierrez is of the opinion that California state laws do not include Judd's professional relationship as an actor with the producer. However, he added that the court has not taken a position on the issue of sexual harassment and that Judd can still sue Weinstein for slander in a civil case.
Judd had accused Weinstein of ruining her career for not wanting sex. According to Judd, the producer made sure she lost a role in the 1998 saga by throwing her away. She must have denied him sex about a year earlier, in a hotel room where he met with her under suspicions that he would discuss business.
Weinstein's spokesperson states in a statement that he neither downplayed Judd nor interfered with her career.
Weinstein is also charged with multiple sex crimes, including first and third-degree rape, of two women in a case that will be filed in New York in May. That charge is not affected by Thursday's verdict.
Ashley Judd was one of the first women to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment in October 2017. The charges against Weinstein, where over 70 women accused him of sexual assault for several decades, became the start of the metoo movement.