Kim Kardashian was dropped from Blac Chyna's defamation trial. Image Source: Hello Magazine
One less thing for Kim Kardashian to worry about!
On Friday, Judge Gregory Alarcon ruled that no evidence stated that SKIMS founder Kim Kardashian had any part in getting Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian’s show canceled or in any way tried to defame her on social media which could harm her brand or reputation. So this means that Kim Kardashian's name has been dropped from the lawsuit only with defamation charge but still on the hook for the interference with the contract of Rob and Chyna's season two.
Blac Chyna, who was previously engaged to Rob Kardashian and shares a five-year-old daughter with him, filed a lawsuit in 2017 against his family members including Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, stating that they used their influence to get season two of "Rob & Chyna" canceled and slut shamed her on social media. Because of the cancellation of the show and bad publicity, Blac Chyna claims that she has had to face financial and emotional setbacks. The family members have denied the allegations since the beginning stating that they do not hold such power to get a show canceled.
The plaintiff (Blac Chyna) and defendants (Kar-Jenners) have testified and the jurors are now deliberating their decision as they have heard all the testimonies, cross-examining, and closing statements of the lawyers representing Blac Chyna and the Kar-Jenner women.
On Friday, Kardashian's attorney, Michael G. Rhodes, requested the judge to remove Kim Kardashian from the lawsuit because Blac Chyna she could not provide evidence for a specific incident in which Kim Kardashian had ratified an allegedly defamatory statement against Blac Chyna which had harmed her brand or reputation.
The documents that were obtained by People magazine continued to explain that Michael stated that Blac Chyna made broad assumptions that Kim Kardashian urged her sisters to make accusations against her, but she failed to provide specifics about what statement Kim Kardashian made to encourage her sister, rendering the whole thing insufficient to support her claim. The lawyer went on to say that the other defendants' words couldn't be used to bring a defamation lawsuit against Kim Kardashian because neither her mother nor her sisters have ever served as her agent.
Lynne Ciani, however, argued that Blac Chyna needed only to establish that the individual defendants took a responsible part in the publication of the defamatory matter and added that it would be completely contrary to the law if Kim Kardashian was removed from the lawsuit. She had also accused the Kardashians of 'gaslighting' the jurors along with arguing with the judge about the selection of the jurors. She claimed that instead of selecting 12 jurors and four alternates, the judge had the lawyers select 16 jurors, with the alternates being chosen by random drawing following closing statements. Lynne Ciani had agreed to the process before the trial, the judge reminded her.
However, Judge Gregory Alarcon ruled that there was no evidence presented by Blac Chyna demonstrating that Kim Kardashian was responsible for the publication of the alleged statement by other defendants. The judge also added that Blac Chyna’s unreleased assertion that the jurors were selected in a way that the randomness and fairness of the alternative jury process were not secured is false.
After their first full day of deliberations, jurors returned home without deciding on Friday. Following the Kim Kardashian being dropped out of the defamatory claims, their instructions had to be amended, and attorneys and the judge responded to various questions they had made. The jurors will return and start again on Monday morning and deliberate on defamation claims brought against Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner along with deciding on whether the four women interfered with the contract of Rob and Chyna for season two or not.
