Justin Baldoni has missed his chance to appeal a judge’s dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times.
In a motion obtained by TheWrap, Lively, Reynolds and The Times have all filed for a final judgment on the case, citing Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios’ failure to meet the court’s order on Oct. 17 to show just cause for why the case should continue. According to court documents, Lively was the only party to respond to the order, submitting a letter asking the judge to declare a final judgment, while also requesting that her pending motions for her legal fees remain active. The judge agreed to Lively’s request.
The move came several months after Judge Lewis J. Liman originally dismissed Baldoni’s case in June. In the wake of that dismissal, Baldoni was given time to submit an amended complaint. However, the “It Ends With Us” director and star failed to do so in the time given to him.
Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Lively, Reynolds and their publicist, in which the filmmaker/actor accused the parties of extortion and defamation, was filed in response to a lawsuit submitted by Lively in December 2024. In her suit, Lively accused Baldoni of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us” and of coordinating a retaliatory smear campaign against her around the film’s release.
The director has denied all claims against him. Lively’s lawsuit is, however, ongoing, with a trial set to begin in March 2026.
In June, Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit against Lively, citing a California law legally protecting her sexual harassment allegations against him and, therefore, barring them from being deemed defamatory. The judge additionally ruled that Baldoni & Co. had not proven that The New York Times had any reason to seriously doubt Lively’s claims against him, which means there was no grounds to believe the outlet knowingly or intentionally defamed him.
While this chapter of Baldoni and Lively’s “It Ends With Us” saga has seemingly come to an end, other legal battles stemming from the conflict remain ongoing. In October, NYT filed its own lawsuit against Wayfarer Studios for fees incurred by the outlet in response to Baldoni’s dismissed defamation case.
In late October, Baldoni and Wayfarer also filed a motion in New York to dismiss or stay a July lawsuit filed by Harco National Insurance Company, Wayfarer’s insurer for “It Ends With Us,” which requests that the court declare it not responsible for covering Wayfarer’s legal expenses.
