Justin Baldoni has come face to face with a major legal hurdle after the latest move by the judge in his legal drama with Blake Lively.
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the motion filed by Lively to dismiss the $400 million lawsuit filed by Baldoni against the Gossip Girl alum and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, on Monday, June 9.
The Jane The Virgin star’s $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times has also been tossed away, according to a report by People Magazine.
The judge did make clear that Baldoni’s lawyers can still amend the claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract if they choose to, by the deadline of June 23.
“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 judge wrote.
“The Wayfarer Parties’ additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety,” he added.
Previously speaking of the motion, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, claimed that the motion to dismiss the countersuit was Lively’s attempt to “dismiss herself from the self-concocted disaster she initiated is one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system.”
Lively and Baldoni are scheduled for trial in March 2026.
