LOS ANGELES(AP) - A judge has dismissed allegations against Bob Barker in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a "Price is Right" employee, saying the game-show's longtime host was not her boss.

Deborah Curling, a former production assistant, sued Barker, CBS and production company FremantleMedia North America in October, claiming she faced retaliation after testifying against Barker in another wrongful termination lawsuit.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm H. Mackey tentatively dismissed several claims against Barker on Wednesday, saying he could not be sued for wrongful termination because he was not her employer.

Curling's attorney, Nick Alden, can amend the complaint to try to prove that Barker inflicted emotional distress, but Mackey dismissed that allegation for now.

Mackey also dismissed several claims lodged by Curling against FremantleMedia, but will allow Alden another chance to argue they should be included.

Attorneys for CBS and FremantleMedia declined to comment after the hearing.

Curling's suit claimed she was in a "pleasant working environment" during most of the 24 years at "The Price is Right." She claimed she was demoted after testifying against Barker in a wrongful termination suit filed by one of the show's former production assistants.

She had been seeking unspecified damages.

Neither Curling nor Barker was in court Thursday.

Barker retired last year after hosting "The Price is Right" for 35 years.


(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)