{"id":64245,"date":"2025-03-21T11:49:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T15:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/?p=64245"},"modified":"2025-03-31T11:50:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T15:50:51","slug":"blake-lively-files-a-motion-to-dismiss-justin-baldonis-lawsuit-of-usd-400-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/blake-lively-files-a-motion-to-dismiss-justin-baldonis-lawsuit-of-usd-400-million\/64245\/","title":{"rendered":"Blake Lively files a motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni\u2019s lawsuit of USD 400 million"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"w-full text-token-text-primary\" dir=\"auto\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-6\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\">\n<div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto py-5 px-6\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto flex flex-1 text-base gap-4 md:gap-5 lg:gap-6 md:max-w-3xl lg:max-w-[40rem] xl:max-w-[48rem] group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-none\">\n<div class=\"group\/conversation-turn relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn @xs\/thread:px-0 @sm\/thread:px-1.5 @md\/thread:px-4\">\n<div class=\"relative flex-col gap-1 md:gap-3\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"b4648045-d6c2-4ba2-86e1-bf362feba70d\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert dark\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"191\" data-end=\"509\">Blake Lively isn\u2019t backing down in her legal battle against Justin Baldoni. The <em data-start=\"271\" data-end=\"288\">It Ends With Us<\/em> actress has fired back at Baldoni\u2019s massive $400 million lawsuit, calling it a \u201cvengeful\u201d and baseless attempt to misuse the legal system. In response, Lively has now filed a motion to have the case dismissed entirely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"511\" data-end=\"930\">According to court documents filed on Thursday in the Southern District of New York, Lively argued that Baldoni\u2019s lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to punish her for speaking out about workplace harassment. As reported by <em data-start=\"739\" data-end=\"749\">Page Six<\/em>, she made it clear that <strong data-start=\"774\" data-end=\"928\">laws exist to protect individuals from being silenced through defamation lawsuits\u2014especially when they\u2019re speaking up about harassment or retaliation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"932\" data-end=\"1256\">Lively insists that Baldoni\u2019s claims hold no legal weight and that her statements are fully protected under California law. She further criticized both Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios for seeking an astronomical amount in damages without actually explaining how they arrived at that number\u2014or specifying any real harm caused.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"1258\" data-end=\"1299\"><strong data-start=\"1262\" data-end=\"1297\">What\u2019s This Lawsuit Even About?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1300\" data-end=\"1569\">Baldoni launched the legal action in January, naming Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane as defendants. His lawsuit accuses them of defamation and extortion, arguing that Lively\u2019s allegations have severely damaged his career and reputation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1571\" data-end=\"1836\">However, Lively had already taken legal action against Baldoni before he sued her. Back in December 2024, she filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing him of inappropriate behavior on set. Among her claims, she alleged that Baldoni:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1837\" data-end=\"2001\">\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1837\" data-end=\"1879\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1839\" data-end=\"1879\"><strong data-start=\"1839\" data-end=\"1877\">Made inappropriate sexual comments<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1880\" data-end=\"1939\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1882\" data-end=\"1939\"><strong data-start=\"1882\" data-end=\"1937\">Walked into her trailer while she was breastfeeding<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"1940\" data-end=\"2001\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1942\" data-end=\"2001\"><strong data-start=\"1942\" data-end=\"1999\">Created a hostile work environment for multiple women<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2042\"><strong data-start=\"2007\" data-end=\"2040\">Lively\u2019s Legal Team Hits Back<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2043\" data-end=\"2436\">Lively\u2019s attorneys, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, aren\u2019t mincing words. They told <em data-start=\"2126\" data-end=\"2136\">Page Six<\/em> that California law <strong data-start=\"2157\" data-end=\"2229\">explicitly protects victims who choose to speak out about harassment<\/strong>, whether in court or the press. They also pointed out that Baldoni\u2019s lawsuit faces serious legal roadblocks, including the <strong data-start=\"2353\" data-end=\"2434\">litigation privilege, fair report privilege, and sexual harassment privilege.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2438\" data-end=\"2689\">On top of that, California law has a <strong data-start=\"2475\" data-end=\"2506\">mandatory fee-shifting rule<\/strong>\u2014meaning that if Baldoni\u2019s claims are ruled as frivolous, <strong data-start=\"2564\" data-end=\"2687\">he and his billionaire backers, like Steve Sarowitz and Wayfarer Studios, may end up having to pay Lively\u2019s legal fees.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"2691\" data-end=\"2736\"><strong data-start=\"2695\" data-end=\"2734\">Lively\u2019s Fight Goes Beyond Just Her<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2737\" data-end=\"3040\">Lively\u2019s spokesperson emphasized that this fight isn\u2019t just about her\u2014it\u2019s about protecting others who come forward with similar experiences. Meanwhile, her husband Ryan Reynolds has also filed a motion to have the case thrown out, further showing that <strong data-start=\"2990\" data-end=\"3038\">Team Lively isn\u2019t backing down anytime soon.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3042\" data-end=\"3180\">As the legal battle heats up, one thing is clear: Blake Lively is standing her ground, and she\u2019s not afraid to take the fight all the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blake Lively isn\u2019t backing down in her legal battle against Justin Baldoni. The It Ends With Us actress has fired\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":64246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[458],"class_list":["post-64245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news","tag-blake-lively"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}