Originally appeared on E! Online
Justin Baldoni’s legal journey has experienced a major setback.
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted a motion on June 9 to dismiss the $400 million countersuit filed by the “It Ends With Us” director and star — as well as Wayfarer Studios and several of its staff — against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and their publicist Leslie Sloane, per documents obtained by E! News. Baldoni’s $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times has also been dismissed.
In his decision, Liman addresses two of the main arguments in Baldoni’s suit: first, “that Lively, assisted by Reynolds and Sloane, stole the film from Baldoni and Wayfarer, threatening to refuse to promote the film and attack Baldoni and Wayfarer in the press if the Wayfarer Parties did not agree to grant her, rather than Wayfarer, control over and credit for the film,” which they claim to be civil extortion.
Secondly, Liman addresses the “claim that Lively, Sloane, Reynolds, and The Times spread a false narrative that Baldoni committed sexual misconduct towards Lively and the Wayfarer Parties then engaged in a smear campaign to ruin her reputation” through, in part, the publication of The New York Times’ December article.
On the first, that Lively and parties committed “civil extortion,” the dismissal rules, “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.” It also notes that “regardless of the propriety of” Lively’s alleged actions, they don’t qualify as civil extortion under California law.
On Baldoni and parties’ claims of defamation, the dismissal notes “Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD [California Civil Rights Department] complaint, which are privileged.”
Additionally, regarding comments made by Reynolds, Sloane and The Times accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct, the dismissal adds, “But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane, or the Times 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.”
Liman notes, however, Baldoni’s legal team can still file an amended complaint, changing only the “allegations relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant” with a deadline of June 23.
Following the suits’ dismissal, Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb shared a statement with E! News calling the ruling “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.”
“As we have said from day one,” the statement continued, “this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it.”
E! News has reached out to Baldoni and Wayfarer’s legal teams for comments but has not yet heard back.
