Blake Lively's legal battle with Justin Baldoni is upended as he makes surprising legal move

Daily Mail​

6 hours ago

The theater of battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni just narrowed with the announcement that he will not be amending the claims in his $400 million defamation lawsuit.
The lawsuit that Baldoni, 41, filed against the 37-year-old actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds and her publicist was dismissed by a judge earlier this month, but Baldoni was left with the option to amend some of the complaints in the lawsuit to refile it.
But on Tuesday, his attorney Bryan Freedman announced that Baldoni would not be amending any of his complaints in the tossed-out lawsuit.
In statement to DailyMail.com, Freedman said: 'The Court's decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively's claims.
'Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations,' he continued. 'Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.'
Despite her initial legal win when Baldoni's lawsuit was dismissed, Lively hasn't been letting up on her own lawsuit, and she recently sent out a bevy of new subpoenas.
A spokesperson for Lively also responded to the news that Baldoni was stepping back from his failed attempt to countersue her in a statement to DailyMail.com.
'The Court dismissed the frivolous $400 million Baldoni–Wayfarer lawsuit in its entirety,' they said.
'In the days that followed, Baldoni's lawyer said the judge's decision to dismiss their case was not a big deal as they promised to amend and refile it. As per usual, that was not true,' her spokesperson continued. 'The Court's dismissal of Baldoni's sham lawsuit was a total victory after all.'
Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit two weeks ago, but he left the Jane The Virgin star a second opportunity to amend the suit by June 23.
However, the judge ruled that he could only amend the allegations 'relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant.'
The 132-page opinion broke down why the allegations in Baldoni's lawsuit were without merit, including the accusation that Lively, her husband and her publicist Leslie Sloane engaged in 'civil extortion.'
'The Wayfarer Parties cannot recover for Lively's alleged actions to steal creative control of the film from Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties. Regardless of the propriety of these actions, they do not constitute civil extortion under California law,' the judge says. 'California courts have recognized claim for civil extortion in situations where a plaintiff gives a defendant money or property under threat and seeks to have it returned.
'However, the Wayfarer Parties have not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions. Additionally, the Wayfarer Parties have not shown that some of Lively's allegedly extortionate acts damaged them.'
When summarizing the extortion claim, the judge wrote: 'Lively, Sloane, and Reynolds have the better of the argument.'
The judge also denied requests from Reynolds, Sloane and Vision PR for an award of attorney's fees and costs, in addition to a request from Lively for an award of attorney's fees, treble damages and punitive damages.
The above motions were denied without prejudice in accordance with the ruling.
Wayfarer Studios was founded by Baldoni and billionaire businessman Steve Sarowitz in 2019.
A statement obtained at the time by DailyMail.com from Blake Lively's attorneys read: '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.
'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.'
In a statement obtained by DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for The New York Times said of the dismissal: 'We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit against The New York Times for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting.
'Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism. We will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.'
Liman also weighed in on the demands Lively sought on the set of It Ends With Us in order to prevent further discomfort on the set, with his opinion stating: 'Even if they turn out to be unneeded, an employee can insist on protections at workplace for sexual harassment without being accused of extortion. If an employer accedes, it cannot later claim to be a victim of the employee's wrongful threats.'
Additionally, Liman said of the allegation that Lively threatened to not promote the film unless her cut was released, among other requests: 'There also is no allegation that Lively had a contractual obligation to promote the film; if not, there is no basis to assume that the value that she conveyed in terms of her willingness to promote represented anything other than a fair trade for the Wayfarer Parties' willingness to use her cut.'
The court said that although statements made by Reynolds and Sloan were 'extraneous' or outside of the complaint, Baldoni failed to allege facts that they were made with actual malice, or that Reynolds and Sloane either knew their statements were false or acted in reckless disregard of their veracity.
Another party that can breathe a sigh of relief after Baldoni's lawsuit was thrown out is Marvel Entertainment, LLC.
Baldoni had subpoenaed the studio to get it to preserve any documents related to the Deadpool & Wolverine character Nicepool, which his legal team claimed was designed 'to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate or bully' Baldoni.
But after throwing out Baldoni's lawsuit, Liman agreed to Marvel's request to 'quash the subpoena issued to Marvel from [Baldoni's] Wayfarer Parties and for a protective order prohibiting the disclosure of Marvel's confidential documents.'
Baldoni's team had send a letter requesting documents be retained to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Bob Iger, CEO of its parent company Walt Disney, on January 7.
The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni officially erupted last year after rumors of tension between the two, with the actress accusing her co-star of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign, allegations Baldoni denied.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
'I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,' Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.
Baldoni has denied the allegations brought about by Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made in litigation by Baldoni.
Baldoni's team has released a website which includes private communications such as text messages that were included in court filings detailing his interactions with the Hollywood power couple over the making of the romantic drama.
He claimed in court filings they made efforts to usurp and undermine his input as the director of It Ends with Us.
Baldoni's team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website makes things clear about the motives of both parties.
The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.
Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni on December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31.
In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways — including body shaming her — and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted 'false accusations of sexual harassment' against him.
Baldoni and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
On June 3, DailyMail.com revealed Lively, 37, dropped a claim of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Baldoni.
Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled '"We Can Bury Anyone": Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine ;' the newspaper has denied the allegations.
Since Lively's complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist ; and being dropped by the agency WME , which also reps Lively and Reynolds.
WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen.
She has also appeared in movies such as 2010's The Town, 2016's The Shallows, 2018's A Simple Favor and 2020's The Rhythm Section.
Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019. He also has directed films including 2019's Five Feet Apart and 2020's Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.