The judge overseeing Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s ongoing legal battle suggests the It Ends With Us costars settle outside of the courtroom.
Judge Lewis J. Liman directed Lively, 38, and Baldoni, 41, on Tuesday, December 9, to contact a magistrate judge to discuss a settlement.
The update came the same day news broke that Lively and Baldoni’s legal trial had been postponed because Judge Liman has two criminal trials and “as important as this case is … criminal trials take precedent.”
While the civil trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York was scheduled to begin on March 9, 2026, it is now expected to start on May 18, 2026. The next scheduled hearing in the case, which has been in discovery, is January 22.
Legal expert Gregory Doll, who is not affiliated with the case, told People on Wednesday, December 10, that it makes sense that the judge is encouraging the pair to settle.
“But many settlements occur right before trial. There is something about the looming trial date, and reality of what is about to happen, that makes parties reconsider their previous views about settlement,” Doll said. “There is so much risk in going to trial, and the magistrate judge is going to be hammering that message home at the settlement conference. You see it again and again as a lawyer: lots of deals get made right before or even during trial,”
He added, “That said, this case may be an outlier to the general rule that most civil cases settle. This is a deeply personal dispute and both sides have the resources to fight.”
Adapted from Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, It Ends With Us centers around Lily Bloom (Lively) and her abusive relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni). While navigating her dynamic with Ryle, Lily begins to spark a connection with former high school love interest Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar).
Reports began swirling in 2024 that there was tension between Lively and Baldoni on the set of It Ends With Us when fans began noticing at the time that she was promoting the film with some of her costars — while he didn’t join interviews or press opportunities.
Later that year, Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and claimed that his alleged behavior on set of It Ends With Us had caused her “severe emotional distress.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Lively said, “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.”
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the allegations, calling them “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” Freedman further alleged that Lively filed the suit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about It Ends With Us’ production. (Lively served as a producer on the movie.)
Baldoni filed his own lawsuit against Lively in January, which was dismissed in June.
Hoover, for her part, broke her silence on the legal back-and-forth in November — nearly one year after Lively’s initial filing in December 2024.
“It feels like a circus. When there are real people involved, with real feelings and emotions,” Hoover, 45, told Elle at the time, adding that the drama has “impacted some of the actors’ careers” in “huge” ways. “I just find it all around sad.”
The outlet claimed that the author was preparing to give a deposition in the case around when the interview was conducted, with Hoover sharing that she’s “trying to stay removed from the negativity.”
“I have my own story I could tell … but I don’t want to bring attention to it, and I don’t want to have to put someone else down to lift myself up,” she said. “So, I’d rather just ignore it and let people think and say what they’re going to say.”
