There's been a fresh twist in the lawsuit battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively after his suit against her was thrown out by a judge and he chose not to refile it.
Just to refresh your memories, Baldoni and Lively appeared together in the movie It Ends With Us, which Baldoni also directed, but after the movie was released Lively filed a lawsuit in December 2024 alleging that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the movie set and then launched a smear campaign against her.
She alleged inappropriate behaviour on Baldoni's part, which he denies and he responded by countersuing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds as he accused her of hijacking production of the film.
He also accused her of making a 'duplicitous attempt to destroy him' with a New York Times article, which Lively denies.
Advert
Back in June a judge dismissed Baldoni's countersuit in a major update to the case, and he was given a chance to file an amended complaint if he didn't want a final judgement to be made, which he did not do.
His legal representative Bryan Freedman insisted that 'no deadlines were missed' and the decision not to refile an amended lawsuit was made in order to 'preserve appeal rights'.
In a fresh update to the case Baldoni's legal team have filed to have Lively's lawsuit thrown out, Deadline reports, while Baldoni's team have requested that most of the documents be kept out of public view.
Alexandra Shapiro, one of Baldoni's lawyers, wrote to Judge Lewis Liman saying that they 'do not believe that much of this material should be sealed'.
However, later on in her letter she wrote to 'request that the Court not rule on this letter motion to seal for one week, so that the parties can meet and confer and so that any party may file motions for continued sealing if they so choose'.
People reports that Lively is seeking damages of over $161 million (£122 million) which includes the alleged loss of $56.2 million (£42.6 million) in earnings, as well as $71 million (£53.9 million) in lost business profits and $34 million (£25.8 million) in reputational damage.
As it stands, Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni is still ongoing and is due to go to trial in March.
Baldoni's team are trying to have the lawsuit thrown out and are claiming that 'no reasonable jury' would find Baldoni guilty while also arguing that a loss of earnings 'cannot be calculated with reasonable certainty'.
Those figures behind the damages Lively is seeking will be subject to expert testimony, so the huge amount Baldoni could be set to pay her should the court case go against him is subject to change.
If Baldoni's attempt to get Lively's lawsuit thrown out is unsuccessful then this matter appears bound for the courtroom in a matter of months.
LADbible Group has contacted Blake Lively's representatives for comment.
Topics: Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively, Entertainment, Celebrity
Joe Harker