Jennifer Lopez's extortion suit against driver dismissed

A judge has dismissed Jennifer Lopez's $20 million counter-suit against her former chauffeur Hakob Manoukian for allegedly trying to extort money from the singer-actress.

In April Manoukian sued Lopez and her manager Benny Medina for breach of contract among other things, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Lopez fired back in August seeking $20 million in damages, claiming the driver had demanded $2.8 million and threatened to release personal secrets if he didn't get the money.

According to E! News, Lopez's countersuit was dismissed Thursday under California's anti-SLAPP law, which allows a plaintiff in a lawsuit to request dismissal of a cross-complaint believed to be a "strategic" move to burden the original plaintiff with a legal defense to get the original case dropped.

Manoukian's suit alleges that Lopez and Medina demoted him in 2011 to be her L.A. driver only and not the head of her transportation and security as they had already agreed.