Judge formally ends Justin Baldoni’s $400-million countersuit against Blake Lively

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A federal judge has dismissed Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, marking the newest turn in their ongoing and contentious legal battle stemming from their film, “It Ends With Us.”

On Friday, Judge Lewis Liman officially closed the lawsuit between actor Dominic Baldoni and Lively, after Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, failed to meet a deadline to reinstate their case. The judge had previously dismissed the lawsuit in June, but allowed Baldoni to refile it with changes. When Baldoni didn’t submit a revised complaint, Judge Liman finalized the dismissal. Lively requested the dismissal be made final and that her request for legal fees remain active, and the court approved this request.

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This filmmaker has always incorporated his Bahai faith into his work. Now, accusations related to Blake Lively and the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ are putting his reputation at risk.

The dispute started almost a year ago when Blake Lively sued Justin Baldoni in December 2024, claiming sexual misconduct and a deliberate attempt to damage her reputation following issues during the filming of “It Ends With Us,” based on Colleen Hoover’s popular novel. Baldoni, who both directed and starred in the film, refuted the claims and then filed his own lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist, seeking $400 million for defamation and extortion.

Baldoni also filed a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times regarding their reporting on Lively’s accusations. However, Judge Liman dismissed both lawsuits on June 9th. The judge determined that Lively’s claims of harassment were legally protected by a California law (AB 933) designed to shield survivors of abuse, and that Baldoni hadn’t proven the defendants knowingly doubted the truth of Lively’s statements.

Following the June ruling, Lively’s lawyers celebrated it as a complete win, fully proving her claims. Lively herself posted on Instagram that she’d experienced the hurt of a lawsuit filed in response to her actions, but it strengthened her commitment to supporting every woman’s right to speak out. However, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, strongly disagreed in June, calling Lively’s claim of victory untrue and stating that his client was the victim of false allegations.

Reps for Baldoni and Wayfarer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Messages between Blake Lively and Taylor Swift might be presented as evidence in court as part of Lively’s ongoing legal dispute with Justin Baldoni.

When Baldoni didn’t appeal the court’s decision by the deadline, he gave up his attempt to overturn the legal protections granted to Lively under California law. This means the previous dismissal of his claims stands, and Lively’s earlier win in court remains valid.

With Friday’s decision, the case against Baldoni is closed unless he decides to appeal. However, Lively’s original lawsuit – the one that began this whole issue – is still ongoing and is set to go to trial in March 2026. That trial will decide if her claims of harassment and retaliation will be presented to a jury, meaning the main part of this dispute won’t be resolved until next year.

For now, only one side of the “It Ends With Us” legal battle has truly ended.

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2025-11-03 21:31