A final judgment was entered in Justin Baldoni’s US$400-million defamation and extortion countersuit 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 Liman signed an order stating that Baldoni, 41, and his production company Wayfarer Studios had let the deadline lapse after the court dismissed the case in June.
Liman said he’d contacted all parties on Oct. 17 to let them know he’d be entering a final judgment to conclude the case.
Lively, 38, was the only one to respond, asking the judge to finalize the dismissal and to keep her request for legal fees open, which the judge agreed to, according to People.
Baldoni may still appeal the dismissal after the court decides 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 change the “allegations relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant.”
Liman also ruled that Baldoni’s claims that Lively stole creative control of the film didn’t count as 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 privileged,” Liman wrote in the opinion and order filing. “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.
“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.
“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 defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, which had reported on Lively’s sexual harassment allegations.
Lively’s lawyers previously called the dismissal “a total victory and 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. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation,” Lively’s lawyers said in a statement.
Baldoni’s suit was seeking at least $400 million for damages that included lost future income. The lawsuit from Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which also named Sloane as a defendant, came about two weeks after Lively sued Baldoni and several others tied to the film, alleging harassment and a co-ordinated campaign to attack her reputation for coming forward about her treatment on the set.
In late March, Lively asked a judge to dismiss Baldoni’s countersuit, calling his claims “vengeful and rambling,” after she filed the lawsuit against him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
Lively’s lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, wrote in papers filed in Manhattan federal court that Baldoni and his production company’s claims that they were defamed were a “profound abuse of the legal process.”
“The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about sexual harassment and retaliation,” the lawyers said.
“The right to seek legal redress and the right of the press to report on it are sacred principles that are protected by multiple privileges, including the litigation and fair report privileges, which are absolute.”
Lively’s legal team also referred to Baldoni’s lawsuit as 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 in late December 2024 for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. The trial is currently set to take place in March 2026.
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