A federal judge dismissed most of the claims in Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni in a court ruling Thursday.
Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including sexual harassment, defamation and conspiracy, according to court docs obtained by Page Six.
However, three of her claims can proceed — breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation.
Lively and Baldoni’s trial is set for May 18.
A member of Lively’s legal team told Page Six in a statement that the sexual harassment claim isn’t going forward “not because the defendants did nothing wrong” but because of a technicality — the court determined Lively was an independent contractor, not an employee.
“This case has always been and will remain focused on the devasting retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial,” the statement continued. “For Blake Lively, the greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they’ve targeted.
“She looks forward to testifying at trial and continuing to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation so that it becomes easier to detect and fight.”
Meanwhile, members of Baldoni’s legal team told Page Six in a statement that they’re “very pleased” the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants.
“These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the Court for its careful review of the facts, law and voluminous evidence that was provided,” the statement reads. “What’s left is a significantly narrowed case, and we look forward to presenting our defense to the remaining claims in court.”
Lively filed a complaint accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment while they worked together on the set of “It Ends With Us,” and officially sued the director on Dec. 31, 2024.
Lively claimed she suffered at least $161 million in lost earnings and damages due to the alleged smear campaign launched against her when the film came out.
Baldoni, who denied Lively’s allegations, sued her — and her husband, Ryan Reynolds — for $400 million later that same month, though the lawsuit was tossed out last June.
However, the “Jane the Virgin” alum’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Page Six at the time that their legal battle against Lively wasn’t over, and that his client “chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights.”
“In the meantime, we are focusing on Ms. Lively’s claims,” Freedman added, noting that he and his team “remain fully committed to pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue available.”
On Feb. 11, Baldoni and Lively made an appearance in court in Manhattan, where they bizarrely matched outfits.
However, their settlement talks were unsuccessful.
In Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, she described multiple incidents of Baldoni sexually harassing her while filming “It Ends With Us,” which he’s vehemently denied.
One alleged incident was described in court docs obtained by Page Six, in which Lively alleged that during the filming of “a slow dance scene for a montage in which no sound was recorded,” Baldoni “leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘It smells so good’… When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you.’ ”
Baldoni’s attorney later released behind-the-scenes footage of him and Lively shooting the scene in an effort to refute her sexual harassment allegations.
“The scene in question was designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing to be close to one another. Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism,” Freedman’s statement to Page Six read.
In December, Lively insisted she deserves her “day in court” in response to Baldoni filing a motion to dismiss her lawsuit a month prior.
The heavily redacted 76-page court document obtained by Page Six accused Baldoni and his co-defendants of “throwing the kitchen sink at Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims.”
Lively’s lawyers claimed Baldoni’s “litigation strategy” implemented “DARVO strategies” — a manipulation tactic defined as denying wrongdoing, attacking a victim and reversing victim and offender roles.