OAKLAND — In a devastating blow to the East Bay’s alternative weekly newspaper, the East Bay Express on Friday laid off one-third of total employees, including its entire editorial staff except Editor Robert Gammon.

The Express will continue publishing, but with a few editors relying on freelance writers instead of staff.

The editorial staff of staff writer Darwin BondGraham, Managing Editor Janelle Bitker, Associate Editor Azucena Rasilla and Calendar Editor Beatrice Kilat were among the layoffs. Gammon, who had the job of informing staff of the layoffs, remains as editor, and beginning on Monday Publisher Stephen Buel returns to the newsroom after a hiatus.

“It was a sad day for the East Bay Express today,” Gammon said in a phone interview Friday. “The people laid off were all fabulous journalists and they are going to be sorely missed.”

The layoffs came in the wake of the Express losing a lawsuit filed by Terry Furry, its ex-sales and marketing director who sued claiming he was illegally denied overtime pay. Buel was attempting to sell the Express, with at least two groups seriously interested, but any hope of selling the paper in the near-term appears to have ended with the court decision from earlier this week.

Furry is demanding approximately $750,000 from the Express. According to a blog by Gammon posted on Wednesday, the First District Court of Appeal “remanded the case to the trial court to determine how much Furry is owed. The court also ruled that the Express must pay his legal bills.”

Reached Friday, Buel said he is still talking to potential buyers but at this point, “I see no way that we can expect to sell the paper.” He called the $750,000 figure “obscene.”

“A judgment like that will put all of our publications out of business and result in the plaintiff receiving nothing,” Buel said.

Buel stepped down as publisher in July and announced he would sell the publication. His resignation came after admitting to taking down blog posts and using the N-word during a staff meeting, which prompted Rasilla and Kilat to quit. Rasilla and Kilat were hired back after Buel left the newsroom. Buel and his wife, Judith M. Gallman, also own Oakland Magazine, Alameda Magazine, the East Bay Monthly and Bay Woof.

Founded in 1978, the Express has covered news culture in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond. Buel served as editor from 2001 to 2010 and returned as majority owner last year.

“It’s a dark day,” Buel said. “I am optimistic we can bounce back. We are doing this because we have to live within our means.”