Baldoni missed his deadline to file an amended complaint for the suit
New York-based US district judge Lewis Liman has formally dismissed actor and director Justin Baldoni’s US$400 million civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy suit against actor Blake Lively, reported BBC.
Liman said that Baldoni missed his deadline to file an amended complaint after his initial suit was dismissed in June. The judge had reportedly informed the parties on October 17 that he would be entering a final judgment on the case.
The legal fight between former co-stars Baldoni and Lively, who worked together in the 2024 film “It Ends with Us”, began in December 2024 when Lively alleged that Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and initiated a smear campaign against her. She also sued Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios; the New York Times published details of Lively’s claims in an article released before her suit.
Baldoni filed a countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, the couple’s publicist, and the Times. He alleged that Lively threatened not to promote “It Ends with Us” and propagated the inaccurate narrative about her sexual harassment and the smear campaign.
In his June ruling, a snippet of which was published by BBC, Liman wrote that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios “have not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions.” Liman added that Baldoni and Wayfarer failed to prove defamation because they did not claim that Lively was responsible for statements other than the privileged statements in her suit.
Liman also determined that there was no proof the Times acted with malice in releasing the article featuring Lively’s claims, noting that the publication “had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events.” Thus, the judge dropped the US$250 million suit.
Liman permitted Baldoni to amend and refile his claims involving interference with contracts by June 23. In the final judgment, Liman said Baldoni had not done so.
Lively sought the declaration of Liman’s final judgment but asked that her request for legal fees stay active. The judge acquiesed.
Neither Baldoni nor Wayfarer provided comment on the new decision. Lively’s initial suit against Baldoni is still active.
