‘Baby Reindeer’ Battle Reignites: Netflix Suffers Blow In Bid To Get Fiona Harvey Lawsuit Spiked

After legal proceedings were dormant for more than a year, Netflix has suffered a blow in its efforts to get Fiona Harvey‘s lawsuit thrown out of court.

Harvey, a former lawyer from Scotland, hit Netflix with a $170 million defamation lawsuit in 2024 after Baby Reindeer became a global sensation and she was identified as the show’s alleged stalker, Martha, played by Jessica Gunning.

Harvey claimed that the darkly comic series, which was billed as a “true story,” portrayed her as “a twice-convicted stalker who was sentenced to five years in prison.” Harvey has never been convicted of stalking Gadd, and she argued the series was “the biggest lie in television history.”

The case was widely expected to go to trial in May 2025, but an appeal by Netflix put a halt to proceedings at the Central District of California Court. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, has ruled that it lacks jurisdiction over the appeal. The ruling was made on technical grounds rather than on the merits of Netflix’s argument.

In its order, the appeals court said Netflix must either “file a motion to voluntarily dismiss this appeal or file a statement explaining why it should not be dismissed.” Netflix declined to comment.

Richard Roth, the attorney representing Harvey, told Deadline: “Netflix is doing everything to avoid a trial of this action. First, it made a motion before the federal district court which it lost. Then it appealed that decision, which was dismissed. Notwithstanding its efforts, there will be a trial in this action where its wrongdoing will be front nd center before a jury.”

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled in September 2024 that Harvey’s case should proceed because Baby Reindeer was wrongly billed as a “true story” after Netflix “made no effort” to fact-check creator Richard Gadd’s experiences and failed to “hide” Harvey’s identity.

Netflix has argued that Harvey’s claim fails because she “does not allege a provably false statement of fact was made about her.” Netflix has said that her reputation has already been tarnished by “past news stories detailing her previous harassment and stalking of public figures.”

Baby Reindeer was a massive and somewhat unexpected hit when it premiered in April 2024. The limited series has amassed 103 million views since its debut, as well as clinching Emmy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards.