Justin Baldoni’s $400M lawsuit against Blake Lively officially dismissed
Global News
The judge previously ruled that Baldoni's claims that Lively stole creative control of the film 'It Ends With Us' didn’t count as extortion under California law.
A final judgment was entered in Justin Baldoni’s US$400-million defamation and extortion countersuit against It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds after Baldoni missed the deadline to file an amended complaint.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman signed an order stating that Baldoni, 41, and his production company Wayfarer Studios had let the deadline lapse after the court dismissed the case in June.
Liman said he’d contacted all parties on Oct. 17 to let them know he’d be entering a final judgment to conclude the case.
Lively, 38, was the only one to respond, asking the judge to finalize the dismissal and to keep her request for legal fees open, which the judge agreed to, according to People.
Baldoni may still appeal the dismissal after the court decides Lively’s pending motion for legal fees, according to E! News.
Liman previously dismissed Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios’ lawsuit on June 9, but allowed him and his legal team to amend the complaint to change the “allegations relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant.”
Liman also ruled that Baldoni’s claims that Lively stole creative control of the film didn’t count as extortion under California law.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged,” Liman wrote in the opinion and order filing. “The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and (publicist Leslie) Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign.
