By Nardine Saad

Los Angeles Times

A portion of former Denver DJ David Mueller’s case against pop star Taylor Swift has been thrown out.

A judge ruled Friday that the ousted KYGO-FM host, who Swift accuses of groping her in June 2013, couldn’t prove that Swift herself got him fired after the alleged incident, according to the Associated Press.

Mueller named the “Blank Space” singer as well as her mother, Andrea Swift (who served on her management team at the time), and their radio liaison Frank Bell in his $3-million civil suit that is being tried in U.S. District Court in Denver this week. Mueller accused the trio of ruining his career and pressuring his employer to release him after the incident.

His identical allegations against Swift’s mother and Bell will still go to the jury.

The 27-year-old singer, who filed an opposing lawsuit accusing the DJ of sexual assault during a pre-concert meet-and-greet at the Pepsi Center in Denver, is seeking a symbolic $1 judgment and a chance to stand up for other women.

Mueller denied claims that he inappropriately touched Swift, and the disparate stories were heard in front of an eight-person jury this week. Swift took the stand Wednesday, defiantly telling the judge and jury that during a photo op with the DJ, “(he) stayed attached to my bare ass-cheek as I lurched away from him.” She insisted it was “a definite grab. A very long grab.”

Swift’s attorney Douglas Baldridge filed a motion after the Friday lunch break to throw out the case entirely because Mueller’s legal team had not proven its claims, The Denver Post reported, and there was not enough evidence for the case to reach the jury,

“I would ask you right now, please, after this ordeal, please remove Ms. Taylor Swift from this case,” Baldridge said. However, Mueller’s lawyer Gabe McFarland disagreed.

According to AP, U.S. District Judge William Martinez determined Friday that Swift could not be held liable because Mueller failed to prove that she personally set out to have him fired. He made the decision after sending jurors home for the day following testimony from Swift’s former bodyguard Greg Dent and Mueller’s ex-girlfriend Shannon Melcher, who was photographed with him and Swift during the meet-and-greet.

The trial, which began Monday with jury selection, was scheduled to last through Thursday. The jurors are scheduled to return Monday when they’ll consider Swift’s counterclaims.