Baldoni's Legal Team Prioritizes Lively's Lawsuit Over Appeal Strategy
Justin Baldoni's legal team did not overlook any “filing date” in his ongoing case against Blake Lively, according to exclusive information obtained by Us Weekly.
Insiders clarify that Baldoni's representatives had no intention of lodging an appeal following the June dismissal of his claim against Lively, 38. Their current focus remains on Lively's original legal action.
They met all required timelines and are now preparing for the upcoming trial slated for March.
On Friday, October 31, TMZ indicated that Baldoni had bypassed the opportunity to appeal the June dismissal, which had recently finalized. Nevertheless, Baldoni's legal counsel intentionally allowed this deadline to lapse, as an appeal was never part of their strategy.
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Meanwhile, Lively's initial lawsuit, originally filed in December 2024, is still active and is set to proceed to trial in March 2026.
The legal dispute between Lively and Baldoni originated when the actress leveled accusations against her It Ends With Us costar and director, alleging sexual harassment and the orchestration of a targeted smear campaign. Her lawsuit against Baldoni was initiated in December 2024, just four months following the film's theatrical release.
Baldoni, 41, has vehemently refuted all accusations. He later filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in January, alleging extortion and defamation against the couple. Lively and Reynolds, 49, have also denied these claims. Following the judge's dismissal of Baldoni's lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds, the Gossip Girl star publicly acknowledged the legal victory with an uplifting statement.
“Last week, I stood proudly alongside 19 organizations united in defending women’s rights to speak up for their safety,” she shared on her Instagram Story in June. “Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us.”
Baldoni and his legal representatives were offered an opportunity to revise their allegations concerning breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract. The court set a deadline of June 23 for this, but Baldoni ultimately decided against making these amendments. His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, subsequently clarified that their focus had shifted to invalidating Lively's initial December 2024 lawsuit.
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“The Court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively’s claims,” Freedman informed People in June. “Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.”
Since the June dismissal, both Lively's and Baldoni's legal teams have been engaged in preparations for their next court appearance. In July, Lively provided a deposition to Baldoni's attorneys in New York City. Us had earlier reported that Baldoni was present in the room, accompanied by his legal counsel, observing Lively as she responded to inquiries regarding their on-set disagreements during It Ends With Us and the ongoing legal battle.
Three months subsequently, It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover and actress Jenny Slate, who depicted Baldoni’s sister in the film, underwent deposition. Isabela Ferrer, who portrayed the younger iteration of Lively’s character, was also deposed. (Ferrer, 25, had previously made accusations of harassment against Baldoni after his team reportedly failed to deliver a subpoena to her at various addresses, and her legal representative did not respond to requests for case-related data. Baldoni’s legal team refuted her claims in August, asserting they were merely seeking “documents that [Ferrer] either neglected to produce or were not requested” when Lively initially subpoenaed her in February 2025.)
