Originally appeared on E! Online
Justin Baldoni’s countersuit against Blake Lively has seemingly come to an end.
The “It Ends With Us” actor and director missed the deadline to appeal a judge’s dismissal of his $400 million defamation and extortion case against his costar, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times, effectively bringing the legal matter to a close, according to court documents obtained by multiple outlets.
After Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s case in June, the 41-year-old and his Wayfarer Studios failed to file an amended complaint before an established deadline. They were also given until Oct. 17 to respond to a court order asking why a final judgment shouldn’t be entered in the case, but failed to do so, per the outlets’ documents.
Despite the judge’s Oct. 31 ruling, Baldoni retains the right to appeal the judgment once the court rules on Lively’s request to recoup her legal fees, the outlets reported.
READ Blake Lively’s Rep Slams Extortion Claim Amid Justin Baldoni Legal Battle
While Baldoni’s case may be over, his legal war with Lively continues. The “Gossip Girl” alum’s own lawsuit against her former colleague — in which she accused him of sexually harassing her on set of the 2024 romantic drama and hiring a crisis PR expert to help tarnish her reputation, both of which he has denied — is set to go to trial in March 2026.
And in October, the Times filed its own lawsuit against Baldoni seeking punitive damages against him for costs related to his countersuit, which involved an article published by the outlet detailing his fallout with Lively. However, the “Jane the Virgin” alum intends to fight the case.
“Win, lose or draw, we refuse to cave to power brokers even in the face of seemingly impossible odds,” his lawyer Bryan Freedman said in a statement to People at the time. “We continue to stand tall for a reason: the pursuit of truth, in the face of giants.”
