NEW YORK (Court TV) — A New York judge dismissed a $400-million lawsuit filed by actor and director Justin Baldoni against his co-star, actress Blake Lively, and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, but left the door open for the suit to be refiled.
This combination of images shows Blake Lively at the London screening of the film “It ‘Ends With Us” on Aug. 8, 2024, left, and Justin Baldoni, center, and Ryan Reynolds in separate photos at the world premiere of the film in New York on Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo)
In the wake of their movie, “It Ends With Us,” Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and conducting a smear campaign to damage her reputation. In his countersuit, naming Lively, Reynolds and the New York Times as defendants, Baldoni sought at least $400 million for defamation and damages that include lost future income.
United States District Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit on Monday, finding that its two main claims were fundamentally flawed.
Judge Liman said in his 132-page decision that Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer, filed the suit based on the idea that Lively and Reynolds committed “civil extortion.” The complaint, filed in federal court, references both New York and California law; however, New York does not recognize the concept of civil extortion. California law requires a direct transaction of money under threat. Judge Liman said that while Baldoni called Lively’s behavior “wrongful extortion,” there was no evidence it was anything more than “legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions.”
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Baldoni named the New York Times, as well as Lively and Reynolds, in seeking damages for defamation, but Judge Liman dismissed those allegations as well. Baldoni’s suit failed to specify any statements made by Lively that would constitute defamation outside of a privileged complaint filed about the movie. Referencing Reynolds and the New York Times, Judge Liman said there was no reason they “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.”
While Judge Liman ordered Baldoni’s complaint to be dismissed in its entirety, he left the door open for it to be amended and refiled. Baldoni and Wayfarer were given until June 23 to file an amended complaint for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract.
Lively’s lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial on March 9, 2026.
