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Justin Baldoni suffered a massive blow in his legal war with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
The “It Ends With Us” director’s $400 million defamation countersuit against the couple was formally ended by Judge Lewis Liman, who missed the deadline to file an amended complaint, according to People.
Judge Liman reportedly signed a new order on Friday that stated Baldoni, 41, and his Wayfarer Studios co-plaintiffs let the deadline lapse after their case was dismissed back in June.
In addition, Judge Liman reportedly said he contacted all parties involved in the case on Oct. 17 to warn them that he’s entering a final judgement to end the case.
Lively, 38, was allegedly the only person to respond. She asked the judge to declare the final decision and for her request for legal fees to remain active, which the judge agreed to, per People.
The Post has reached out to Baldoni and Lively’s reps for comment.
The ongoing legal saga began last December when Lively sued Baldoni and claimed that he sexually harassed her on the set of “It Ends With Us” and “coordinated effort to destroy her reputation” after the film was released.
Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued Lively, Reynolds, 49, and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, for $400 million over alleged defamation and extortion, which they, too, denied.
In June, Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni and Wayfarer’s $400 million lawsuit, as well as the actor’s $250 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, in which he alleged libel and false light invasion of privacy over the newspaper’s December 21, 2024 article about Lively’s sexual harassment complaint.
After the dismissal, Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson & Mike Gottlieb, called the legal win “complete vindication” for the actress.
“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it,” they said in a statement in June, adding that they “look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages” against Baldoni and others “who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”
Lively also spoke out about the lawsuit in a message on her Instagram Stories at the time.
“Like so many others, I’ve felt the pain of a retaliatory lawsuit, including the manufactured shame that tries to break us,” she wrote. “While the suit against me was defeated, so many don’t have the resources to fight back.”
The mother of four also stated that she’s now “more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”
The case is still going to trial in March 2026 because of Lively’s original lawsuit against Baldoni.
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