Judge throws out slander claim in lawsuit against Alec Baldwin over parking-spot spat

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A Manhattan judge awarded Alec Baldwin a partial victory in a lawsuit connected to a 2018 dispute over a parking space that resulted in the actor being arrested.

Contractor Wojciech Cieszkowski sued Baldwin in April, accusing the actor of having assaulted and battered him during an argument over a parking spot in November 2018 and of slandering him in subsequent interviews in which the 30 Rock actor discussed the incident.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge David Cohen on Thursday threw out the claim that Baldwin slandered Cieszkowski but his claim of being assaulted and battered still stands, and both parties are to appear Feb. 19 for a preliminary conference.

Cieszkowski accused Baldwin of slandering him in February while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he said, "I thought he was going to run my wife over with his care when he was stealing my parking spot."

He also accused Baldwin of slander when on The Howard Stern Show in March the actor expressed similar comments, according to court documents.

In his seven-page decision, Cohen said Baldwin's comments concerning the manner and speed of Cieszkowskis driving do not reach the degree of slander.

"They constitute every day words used to describe driving in public," Cohen wrote. "Here, the words state by [Baldwin] are not words that accuse [Cieszkowski] of a specific crime ... they are words of frustration with someone's driving."

Baldwin was arrested following the incident and he pleaded guilty in January to harassment, agreeing to take anger management classes as part of his plea deal.

Last month, Baldwin filed a suit accusing Cieszkowski of lying about being punched by the actor.