A federal judge dismissed most of the claims in Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni in a court ruling Thursday.
Judge Louis Lehman dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including sexual harassment, defamation and conspiracy, according to court documents obtained by Page Six.
However, three of her claims – breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting retaliation – can proceed.
The trial for Mr. Lively and Mr. Baldoni is scheduled for May 18th.
Members of Lively’s legal team said in a statement that the sexual harassment lawsuit was not moving forward “not because the defendant did nothing wrong,” but because the court determined that Lively was an independent contractor, not an employee, due to a technicality.
“This case has been, and continues to be, focused on the devastating retaliation and extraordinary steps the defendants took to tarnish the reputation of Blake Lively, who stood up for safety on set,” the statement continued. “For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and plans behind these coordinated digital attacks are exposed and are already being held accountable by other targeted women.
“She looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious online retaliation, making it easier to detect and fight.”
Meanwhile, members of Baldoni’s legal team told Page Six in a statement that they were “very pleased” that the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and all claims brought against individual defendants.
“These are very serious allegations, and we thank the court for carefully considering the facts, the law, and the extensive evidence provided,” the statement read. “What remains is a fairly narrowed case, and we look forward to defending the remaining claims in court.”
Lively filed a formal complaint against Baldoni on December 31, 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment while they worked together on the set of It Ends With Us.
Ms. Lively claimed that she suffered at least $161 million in lost profits and damages due to the alleged smear campaign waged against her during the film’s release.
Ms. Baldoni denied Ms. Lively’s claims and later that month sued Ms. Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for $400 million, but the suit was dismissed in June of last year.
However, the Jane the Virgin alum’s attorney, Brian Friedman, told Page Six at the time that the legal battle against Lively was far from over and that his client “chose not to amend the complaint to protect his appellate rights.”
“In the meantime, our focus is on Ms. Lively’s claims,” Friedman added, saying he and his team “remain committed to pursuing the truth through all available legal and factual avenues.”
On February 11, Baldoni and Lively appeared in a Manhattan courtroom, strangely wearing matching outfits.
However, settlement negotiations failed.
In her lawsuit against Baldoni, Lively described multiple incidents of sexual harassment by Baldoni while filming “It Ends with Us,” a charge Lively vehemently denies.
In court documents obtained by Page Six, Lively alleges that while Lively was filming a “slow dance scene for a montage with no audio recorded,” Baldoni “leaned over and slowly dragged his lips from her ear to her neck, saying, ‘You smell so good.'” When Lively later disputed the act, Lively claims that Baldoni’s response was, “I’m not even attracted to you.” ”
Later, Baldoni’s lawyer released behind-the-scenes footage of Baldoni and Lively on set in an effort to refute the sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni.
“The scene in question was designed to show that the two characters are in love and desire to be close to each other. Both actors clearly behaved appropriately within the scope of the scene, with mutual respect and professionalism,” Friedman’s statement read on Page Six.
Ms. Lively argued in December that Mr. Baldoni deserved a “day in court” after he filed a motion to dismiss the case a month ago.
A heavily redacted 76-page court document obtained by Page Six accuses Baldoni and co-defendants of “throwing the kitchen sink at Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and retaliation.”
Mr. Lively’s lawyers argued that Mr. Baldoni’s “litigation strategy” executed a “DARVO strategy.” This is a manipulative tactic defined as denying wrongdoing, attacking the victim, and reversing the roles of victim and perpetrator.
