A California court judge has rejected Netflix’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Georgian chess player Nona Gaprindashvili, the media reports.
Netflix has called for the lawsuit to be dropped, as it claims the series is a work of art and its creators are given a wide-ranging artistic license by law.
However, the California District Court judge disagreed.
According to the judge, the fact that the series is fictional does not protect Netflix from liability for defamation.
This decision does not mean that the dispute is over: Netflix demanded the termination of the case, and the judge said that the dispute should continue.
Georgian chess player Nona Gaprindashvili filed a lawsuit against Netflix in September last year. According to her and her lawyers, the case concerns the phrase voiced in the TV series The Queen’s Gambit that Nona Gaprindashvili has never faced a male chess player. In addition, another reason for the complaint is that Nona Gaprindashvili is mentioned as Russian. The Georgian chess player is demanding $5 million from the American company in compensation for damages.
By Ana Dumbadze
