Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against Blake Lively has been dismissed after the deadline

Justin Baldoni’s $400m (£295m) lawsuit against his former co-star Blake Lively has been officially dismissed by a judge who said the actor and director had missed a deadline to pursue their claim.

The pair, who star in the 2024 film It Ends with Us, have been in a bitter legal battle since Lively sued Baldoni last December, accusing him of sexual harassment and waging a smear campaign against her.

In response, he sued her, as well as her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist and the New York Times, alleging civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.

Baldoni’s case was dismissed in June, but he had the opportunity to file an amended complaint. However, Judge Louis Liman said he had failed to do so.

The judge said he contacted all parties on October 17 to warn them that he would issue a final judgment to end the case.

Only Lively responded, asking that the final decision be announced but that her request for attorneys’ fees remain active. The judge agreed.

Her original case against Baldoni is also ongoing.

After Baldoni’s case was dismissed in June, the actress’ lawyers called it “a complete victory and a complete vindication.”

at that time That’s what Baldoni’s lawyer said “Lively’s predictable victory declaration is false” and that “with the facts on our side, we’re moving forward.”

He added: “Although the court dismissed the defamation claims, the court invited us to amend four of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will show additional evidence and refined allegations.”

However, these amended claims were not filed under the latest judgment. Baldoni and Wayfarer have not commented.

In June, Judge Liman explained that Baldoni’s case centered on two allegations: that Lively “stole the film” from him and his production company Wayfarer by threatening not to promote it, and that she and others promoted a false narrative that Baldoni sexually assaulted her and launched a smear campaign against her.

But Baldoni and his production company “have not adequately argued that Lively’s threats were wrongful extortion, not legally permissible hardship bargaining or renegotiation of employment terms,” ​​Judge Liman wrote at the time.

Additionally, the judge wrote, Baldoni and his company failed to prove defamation because “the Wayfarer parties have not alleged that Lively is liable for statements other than the statements” in her lawsuit that are privileged.

The judge also ruled that the evidence did not show that the New York Times “acted with actual malice” in publishing their story, dismissing that claim for $250 million as well.

“The alleged facts show that the Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatic fashion, what it believed happened,” he wrote. “The Times had no apparent motive to support Lively’s version of events.”