A Manhattan judge has thrown out part of a lawsuit filed by a man against actor Alec Baldwin over a parking-spot dispute, according to court documents.
The judge on Thursday threw out the claim of slander filed by Wojciech Cieszkowski over a 2018 dust-up between him and Baldwin in Manhattan.
But the civil suit also claims assault and battery, and Judge David Cohen ordered both parties to appear for a preliminary conference on Feb. 19. Cohen's order only applied to the slander part.
The slander claim centered on comments Baldwin made in February on Ellen DeGeneres' show in which the actor said, "I thought he was going to run my wife over with his car when he was stealing my parking spot" and similar comments on Howard Stern's show in March, according to the documents.
The judge wrote in his order that Baldwin’s comments that Cieszkowski allegedly drove fast and aggressively did not rise to the level of accusing Cieszkowski of a serious crime.
"They constitute every day words used to describe driving by the public," Cohen wrote. He also said that Baldwin's claims that Cieszkowski drove fast and almost hit his wife were hyperbole, and that being impolite was not the same as accusing someone of recklessness.
Baldwin was arrested after the incident for allegedly roughing up Cieszkowski and was initially booked on suspicion of misdemeanor third-degree assault and harassment.
Baldwin eventually pleaded guilty to a harassment violation, the lowest level of offense, and agreed to complete a one-day anger management class.
Baldwin also sued Cieszkowski and claimed that he invented the story that the actor "violently punched" him. Baldwin admits to shoving Cieszkowski twice but has denied he ever punched him.
One of Baldwin's attorneys, Luke Nikas, said in an email that "we are pleased with the decision." An attorney for Cieszkowski, Doug Lieb, said the heart of the case will now be moving forward and "we look forward to holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions in court."
