The final decision was made in Justin Baldoni Counterclaim for defamation and extortion in the amount of US$400 million against It ends with us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds after Baldoni missed the deadline to file an amended complaint.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Lyman signed an order saying Baldoni, 41, and his production company Wayfarer Studios missed a post-trial deadline. closed the case in June.
Lyman said he contacted all parties on Oct. 17 to let them know he would make a final ruling in the case.
Lively, 38, was the only one to respond, asking the judge to end the dismissal and leave open her request for legal fees, which the judge agreed to. according to people.
Baldoni can still appeal the dismissal after the court rules on Lively's pending motion for legal fees. according to E! News.
Liman previously dismissed Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios' lawsuit on June 9, but allowed him and his legal team to amend the complaint to amend “the allegations relating to allegations of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied agreement.”
Liman also ruled that Baldoni's claims that Lively stole creative control over the film do not constitute extortion under California law.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are confidential,” Lyman wrote in a review and order registration. “The Wayfarers alleged that Reynolds and (publicist Leslie) Sloan made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarers of engaging in a smear campaign.
“But the Wayfarer Parties did not allege that Reynolds, Sloan or the Times would have seriously doubted the veracity of these statements based on the information available to them because they are liable for libel under applicable law.
“The Wayfarer Parties' additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the amended complaint must be dismissed in its entirety.”
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The judge also dismissed Baldoni's libel suit against the New York Times, which reported Lively's sexual harassment allegations.
Lively's lawyers previously called the dismissal “a complete victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, as well as those Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Party dragged into their countersuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.”
“As we have stated from day one, this $400 million lawsuit was a sham and the court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round seeking attorney's fees, treble compensatory damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan and the other Wayfarer parties who perpetrated this abusive lawsuit,” Lively's lawyers said.
Baldoni's lawsuit sought at least $400 million in damages, including lost future earnings. The lawsuit from Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which also named Sloane as a defendant, was filed about two weeks after Lively sues Baldoni and several others linked to the film, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation for speaking openly about her treatment on set.
At the end of March, Lively asked the judge to dismiss Baldoni's counterclaimcalling his claims “vindictive and incoherent” after she filed a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
Lively's lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, wrote in documents filed in Manhattan federal court that Baldoni and his production company's claims that they were defamed are a “gross abuse of the court's process.”
“The law prohibits defamation lawsuits like this from being used to retaliate against individuals who have filed lawsuits or made public allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation,” the lawyers said.
“The right to legal protection and the right of the press to report it are sacred principles, protected by many privileges, including litigation privileges and fair reporting rights, which are absolute.”
Lively's lawyers also called Baldoni's lawsuit part of a “sinister campaign to bury and destroy” her for speaking out about sexual harassment against him.
Lively sought unspecified damages when she sued Baldoni at the end of December 2024 for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. The trial is currently scheduled to take place in March 2026.
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