A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a former custodian against a Smithsonian Business Ventures vice president, saying the Smithsonian official is protected by a law that insulates some federal employees from such lawsuits, reports The Washington Post.

Mary T. Majano sued to recover damages from injuries she said she sustained in an altercation with Jeanny Kim five years ago.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer determined that Ms. Majano had exaggerated the violence of the encounter but also said that “neither was the incident as tame as Ms. Kim would like to portray.”

Still the judge ruled that she could not determine whether the incident caused Ms. Majano to need surgery for a herniated disk. Ms. Majano’s lawyer, David Jones, said that Ms. Kim violated Smithsonian employment policies and is considering an appeal.

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