Judge dismisses Justin Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively
NEW YORK — A judge dismissed Justin Baldoni's lawsuits against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and the New York Times on Monday.
Baldoni and his Wayfair production company were countersuing the actors for $400 million and the New York Times for $250 million for defamation, citing an article the paper published about the production of 'It Ends With Us,' which Lively co-starred in with Baldoni and produced with Reynolds. The article details Baldoni's alleged sexual harassment and retaliation against Lively, 37, and her December lawsuit against the director.
He argued the article amounted to a smear campaign and denied the allegations. The article was 'rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions' that relied on Lively's 'self-serving narrative,' his complaint read.
The power couple's publicist, Leslie Sloane, was also named in the lawsuit.
The legal back-and-forth between the two parties at one point saw Baldoni's team subpoenaing Taylor Swift only to withdraw the request for the pop star to testify.
Baldoni, 41, filed a motion to have Lively's original lawsuit dismissed but a ruling has not been made.
In Monday's ruling, the court found that Lively was not liable for her claims because the allegations originated in a civil rights complaint. Similarly, since the New York Times based its story on Lively's original complaint, they were also not liable.
Reynolds, who called Baldoni a 'sexual predator,' was also not liable since his statement was consistent with Lively's recollection of events and he had no reason to believe she was lying.
'The Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened,' Southern District of New York judge Lewis J. Liman wrote in his 132-page opinion. 'The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events.'
'Even if they turn out to be unneeded, an employee can insist on protections at workplace for sexual harassment without being accused of extortion,' Liman wrote. 'If an employer accedes, it cannot later claim to be a victim of the employee's wrongful threats.'
Baldoni has until June 23 to decide whether or not to amend the claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract, according to People.
'Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times,' Lively's lawyers said in a statement.
'As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.'
A trial for Lively's suit is scheduled for March.
'It Ends With Us' is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel of the same name and centers on intimate partner abuse, both physical and emotional.
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