Ashley claimed Weinstein shut her out of "Lord of the Rings" after she turned down his sexual demands. She says he blacklisted her from movie roles, including Peter Jackson's enormous franchise as retaliation. She sued under the legal theory ... "sexual harassment in professional relationship."

A federal judge just ruled Judd and Weinstein did not have a relationship that fell within the law. Specifically, the judge said a producer/actress relationship was not covered under the law.

But, there's more. The law was changed in 2018 to cover such relationships, but the judge said it could not be applied retroactively.