Justin Baldoni’s $400 Million Countersuit Against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Dismissed by Court

The legal battle between It Ends With Us stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has taken a major turn. A federal judge has officially dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane.

According to PEOPLE, Judge Lewis J. Liman signed an order on Friday confirming the dismissal. The judge said Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, missed the deadline to file an amended complaint after their original case was thrown out earlier this year.

The court had previously dismissed the defamation claims in June but gave Baldoni’s side a chance to refile. They never did. Judge Liman said he reached out to both sides on October 17 to confirm whether they planned to move forward. Only Lively’s team responded, asking the court to close the case but keep her request for legal fees active. The judge agreed, though Baldoni still has the option to appeal.

The lawsuit was Baldoni’s response to allegations made by Lively late last year. She had filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing her It Ends With Us co-star and director of s**** harassment and claiming he led a smear campaign against her. She later filed a lawsuit in New York federal court.

Baldoni then filed his own $400 million countersuit, accusing Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane of defamation, breach of contract, and invasion of privacy, among other claims. He also took legal action against The New York Times for reporting on Lively’s complaint, filing a separate $250 million defamation suit against the publication.

When the case was reviewed in June, Judge Liman ruled that Lively’s statements were protected because they were made in an official complaint and reported as part of a legitimate news story. He also dismissed the claims against Reynolds, Sloane, and The New York Times, saying there was no evidence they knowingly spread false information.

After the ruling, Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, called it a complete win. “As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” they said in a statement shared with Entertainment Weekly.

“We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, [Wayfarer co-founder Steve] Sarowitz, [publicist Melissa] Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”

Lively later posted about the outcome on her Instagram Stories, expressing both relief and determination. She said the case had been painful but added that she remains “more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”

Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, pushed back against the celebration from Lively’s team. “This case is about false accusations of s**** harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively’s own team conveniently describes as ‘untraceable’ because they cannot prove what never happened,” Freedman said in a statement.

For now, Judge Liman’s decision officially ends Baldoni’s high-profile lawsuit, though the legal drama may not be completely over if he decides to appeal.

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