Judge Dismisses 10 of 13 Claims Against Baldoni in Lively Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman issued a sweeping 152-page ruling Thursday, dismissing 10 of Blake Lively's 13 claims against Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, while allowing three claims, including retaliation and breach of contract, to move forward to trial in Manhattan federal court.

The most consequential finding in Liman's ruling was that Lively functioned as an independent contractor rather than an employee during the production of "It Ends With Us," the 2024 Sony-distributed domestic violence film at the center of the dispute. That classification effectively barred her from pursuing sexual harassment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits gender-based employment discrimination but applies only to employees. Liman also rejected Lively's harassment claims under California law, finding that the film was shot in New Jersey, not California.

The three claims that survived involve breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation. Those surviving claims center largely on what Lively described as a coordinated smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni's public relations team following the film's release. Lively alleged the PR campaign generated more than 176 million negative impressions about her, and Liman found that a jury could reasonably conclude Baldoni was liable for retaliation, citing communications from his publicists suggesting Lively had a "bad reputation."

The ruling arrived approximately one month before the scheduled May 18 trial start date. In the wake of Thursday's decision, attorneys from both sides held a brief phone conference to discuss jury selection procedures. Earlier attempts to settle the case had failed, including a February mediation session before a magistrate judge and six hours of separate settlement talks, both of which ended without a deal.

The lawsuit has its roots in the production of "It Ends With Us." Lively originally filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department before filing a federal lawsuit on December 31, 2024, alleging that Baldoni kissed, nuzzled, and touched her without consent, created a hostile work environment, and added unscripted explicit material to the production. A New York Times investigation published in December 2024, drawing on thousands of pages of documents including text messages and emails, brought the case to national attention.

Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios had countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and others in January 2025, seeking $400 million and accusing them of defamation and extortion, claiming Lively pushed a "false and damaging narrative" that was "rife with lies and doctored evidence." Baldoni separately sued the Times for at least $250 million in libel over its coverage. Judge Liman dismissed both suits on June 9, 2025, ruling they lacked merit under anti-SLAPP laws protecting free speech and finding that Baldoni had not demonstrated substantial monetary damages.

Lively's attorneys had previously characterized Baldoni's countersuit as "a profound abuse of the legal process that has no place in federal court." Neither side responded immediately to media requests for comment following Thursday's ruling. Baldoni's team has consistently maintained that he addressed Lively's concerns as they arose during production.