Alec Baldwin gets slander claim thrown out in parking-spot court battle
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Alec Baldwin won a victory in his court battle with a man who claims the actor punched him during a fight over a parking spot — when a judge Thursday tossed one of the charges against Baldwin.
Wojciech Cieszkowski sued Baldwin in April claiming he slugged him outside Baldwin’s East 10th Street apartment in a fight over a parking spot on Nov. 2, 2018.
Cieszkowski also alleged in the lawsuit that it was slanderous when the “30 Rock” actor went on “The Ellen Show” and “The Howard Stern Show” saying he thought Cieszkowski was going to run over his wife, Hilaria Baldwin.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Nov. 2, 2018, file photo, actor Alec Baldwin walks out of the New York Police Department's 10th Precinct, in New York, after he was arrested for allegedly punching a man in the face during a dispute over a parking spot outside his New York City home. (AP)
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice David Cohen wrote in a new decision that Baldwin’s statements in the media were exaggerations and opinions which don’t rise to the level of defamation.
“As the defendant [Baldwin] was describing his own opinion of what he saw, no action for defamation under a slander per se theory lies,” reads Cohen’s decision.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ALEC BALDWIN SAYS HE WAS SCAMMED BY TOUR COMPANY
“The words stated by defendant [Baldwin] are not words that accuse plaintiff [Cieszkowski] of a specific crime … They are words of frustration with someone’s driving,” the judge said.
The remainder of Cieszkowski’s lawsuit against Baldwin alleging assault and battery will go forward in court.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Baldwin — who was sentenced to anger-management classes after copping to harassment in the criminal case over the incident — filed his own defamation lawsuit against Cieszkowski in November claiming he lied when he said Baldwin punched him.
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Baldwin’s lawyers Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas said they are pleased with the judge’s decision.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cieszkowski’s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.