The defamation countersuit filed by Justin Baldoni against Blake Lively, valued at $400 million, was dismissed by Judge Lewis Liman this Monday.
Blake Lively initiated a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni in 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and orchestrating a ‘social manipulation’ campaign targeting her.
In response, Baldoni filed a counterclaim against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, with allegations of defamation, civil extortion, among other claims.
The legal proceedings included several alleged text exchanges between the involved parties and their public relations teams, as well as a set of purported demands from Lively regarding Baldoni and other crew members on set.
Legal representatives from both sides have rejected the allegations made in the lawsuits. Baldoni’s attorneys described Lively’s charges as ‘categorically false’, while Lively’s team accused Baldoni of trying to ‘turn the tables on the victim’.
In the latest update on the ongoing dispute, Baldoni’s countersuit has been dismissed.
According to an order obtained by Fox News, Judge Liman noted: “The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged.
“The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and [publicist Leslie] Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign.”
The judge further stated: “But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law.”
In a statement provided to PEOPLE magazine, Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, expressed: “Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” they added. “We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, [Steve] Sarowitz, [Melissa] Nathan and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
This development comes just weeks after Lively made an unexpected legal maneuver in her case against her former co-star.