Blake Lively has suffered a major blow in her ongoing legal battle against Justin Baldoni.
Federal judge Lewis Liman ruled on Thursday, April 2, that most of Lively’s claims against Baldoni be dismissed amid her allegations of sexual harassment on the set of their 2024 movie It Ends With Us.
The judge threw out 10 of the 13 claims in Lively’s lawsuit, according to court documents obtained by Luxury Handbag Shopping. The charges that have been dismissed include allegations of harassment, defamation and conspiracy.
The U.S. District Judge in Manhattan allowed three claims to proceed to a trial, including claims of breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
“This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating 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,” Sigrid McCawley, member of Lively’s legal team, told Luxury Handbag Shopping in a statement on Thursday. “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.”
The statement continued: “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.”
Attorneys for the Wayfarer Defendants also shared a statement reacting to the ruling, telling Us, “We’re very pleased the Court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants: Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel. These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the Court for its careful review of the facts, law and voluminous evidence that was provided.”
They added, “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
Lively, 38, and Baldoni, 42, were expected to have their next hearing on Thursday evening over Zoom.
Lively and Baldoni’s legal dispute began in late 2024 after their film, It Ends With Us, hit theaters earlier that summer. (The pair played toxic love interests Lily and Ryle, respectively.)
Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2024, accusing Baldoni, who also served as director on the project, of misconduct on the movie set and creating a “hostile work environment.” She also alleged that Baldoni created a smear campaign against her following their difference of opinions while filming.
Lively subsequently sued Baldoni over sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied. The Gossip Girl alum is seeking more than $160 million in damages.
Baldoni then filed a countersuit against Lively, in which he claimed that Lively exaggerated the charges of misconduct and painted him as a villain in the media.
Us confirmed in June 2025 that a judge dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, after accusing them of extortion and defamation.
Five months later, Baldoni filed to dismiss Lively’s lawsuit against him, claiming that she “cannot prove any actionable sexual harassment” according to court documents.
Lively’s team filed a letter with the court on March 12, arguing that the case should continue with the evidence that has already been gathered.
Later that month, Baldoni’s team accused Lively’s lawyers of flooding the court with a “document dump” and asked for a pretrial postponement.
Baldoni was granted a one-week delay in the pretrial process of his and Lively’s case on March 26. Judge Lewis agreed to Baldoni’s motion, moving the deadline for submitting pretrial filings from Friday, April 3, to Friday, April 10, and pushing a final pretrial conference from April 21 to April 28.
As of now, the trial is set to begin on May 18.
