Judge Ends Justin Baldoni’s $400 Million Legal Battle Against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds After Missed Deadline

3 November 2025

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. Credit: Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

After months of intense legal maneuvering, the star-director Justin Baldoni and his co-plaintiffs at Wayfarer Studios have officially seen their ambitious $400 million countersuit against actress Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds brought to an end by a federal judge’s ruling. On October 31 a final judgment was entered after Baldoni’s team failed to file a required amended complaint in time, rendering the lawsuit dismissed.

The countersuit followed Lively’s December 2024 complaint alleging that Baldoni and his production company created a hostile working environment on the set of their film It Ends With Us and then undertook a retaliatory smear campaign against her. In response Baldoni filed the high-stakes countersuit alleging defamation, civil extortion, breach of contract and invasion of privacy on the part of Lively, Reynolds and Lively’s publicist.

Back in June 2025 U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the bulk of Baldoni’s claims, citing litigation privilege protecting Lively’s statements and the inability of Baldoni’s team to show the requisite “actual malice” for defamation. The judge gave Baldoni leave to amend some narrower claims related to contract interference, but the team did not do so by the June 23 deadline.

The recent order makes the dismissal final, though Baldoni retains the option to appeal. Lively’s legal team however pressed ahead, declaring the dismissal a “total victory” and a “complete vindication” of her position.

While this ruling puts to rest one major component of a broader legal standoff, Lively’s original lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and other defendants remains unresolved and is slated for trial in March 2026.