The legal battle continues
The dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni did not completely end with the agreement announced a month ago. Lively’s lawyers returned to court to demand that Baldoni pay her legal bills, in addition to other penalties.
They argue that California law protects him, since Baldoni’s countersuit—in which he accused her of defamation and extortion—was dismissed last year.
Without actors, but with arguments
Neither actor attended the hearing in New York before federal Judge Lewis J. Liman. Baldoni’s attorney, Ellyn Garofalo, called Lively’s move an attempt to “take a detour” to avoid the trial that the settlement canceled.
“Reopening this for, basically, what would be an alternative trial, would imply reopening the process of obtaining evidence, new experts, new expert statements,” Garofalo said. She added that the agreement was resolved without Baldoni and his production company “paying a cent of the $300 million in damages she was demanding.”
In contrast, Lively’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, argues that Baldoni’s lawsuit was precisely the type of litigation that California law seeks to curb: to protect survivors of misconduct from protracted legal disputes.
Liman did not immediately issue a ruling after more than an hour of arguments.
The background of the case
It all started with the tense filming of It Ends With Us (2024). Lively accused Baldoni of making inappropriate comments about her appearance, violating physical boundaries during a love scene and pushing to include unwanted nudity. She also accused him of orchestrating a campaign to damage her reputation.
Baldoni denied the allegations and filed a countersuit for defamation and extortion against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
In a joint statement following the settlement, both sides said Lively’s concerns “deserved to be heard” and that they “remain firmly committed to workplaces free of impropriety.”
The judge dismissed Lively’s sexual harassment claims under federal law, deeming her an independent contractor. The retaliation lawsuit was headed to trial when they reached the settlement.




