The trial for Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al. is scheduled for May 18
NEED TO KNOW
- Blake Lively’s legal team has reacted to the latest development in her case against Justin Baldoni
- On April 2, Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including those related to harassment
- Lively “looks forward to testifying at trial,” her lawyer Sigrid McCawley said in the statement shared with PEOPLE
Blake Lively is speaking out after a judge dismissed the majority of her legal claims against Justin Baldoni.
Lewis J. Liman, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, ruled on Thursday, April 2 on Baldoni’s bid to end the case before its May 18 trial. Ten of the 13 claims Lively, 38, has filed against Baldoni, 42, following the behind-the-scenes conflict on their 2024 Colleen Hoover adaptation It Ends with Us were thrown out. A narrower set of allegations, including breach of contract and a FEHA retaliation claim against Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios, will move forward to trial.
“This case has always been and will remain focused on the devasting [sic] retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial,” said Sigrid McCawley, member of Lively’s legal team, in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
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“For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they’ve targeted. She looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation so that it becomes easier to detect and fight,” continued the statement.
The claims now thrown out in Lively’s case included those related to harassment, defamation and conspiracy. As McCawley concluded in her statement, “Sexual harassment isn’t going forward not because the defendants did nothing wrong but because the court determined Blake Lively was an independent contractor, not an employee.”
Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Lively and Baldoni’s legal battle began in December 2024, when the Gossip Girl alum filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni, alleging misconduct on the set of It Ends with Us and a retaliatory smear campaign, which he has denied. The director-star’s counterclaims against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which involved allegations of extortion and defamation, were dismissed by Judge Liman in June 2025; Baldoni’s legal team opted not to refile amended versions of those claims.
The latest ruling follows a Feb. 11 court-mandated settlement conference which ended without an agreement. Attorneys for both actors have previously reiterated that they plan to testify during the trial scheduled to take place on May 18 in New York.
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