A federal judge has ruled that attorney Mitchell Garabedian, a famed attorney who was portrayed by actor Stanley Tucci in the film “Spotlight,” may face defamation claims stemming from demand letters he sent to the workplace of a man he was allegedly looking to sue for alleged sex abuse.

U.S. District Senior Judge Jan DuBois of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled that statements Garabedian made to the employer of a man he was threatening to sue might not be subject to judicial immunity. The decision, which comes on a motion for reconsideration, reversed the judge’s earlier ruling that had dismissed the defamation claim.