ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMadeline HalpertAFP via Getty ImagesLively and Baldoni both attended a hearing in person in February at New York federal court A federal judge has dismissed most of the claims in a sexual harassment lawsuit actress Blake Lively filed against her co-star Justin Baldoni.
In a 152-page opinion released on Thursday, Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of 13 claims in Lively's case, including allegations of harassment and defamation.
The pair, who starred in the 2024 film It Ends with Us, have been locked in a legal battle since Lively sued Baldoni in 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and waging a smear campaign against her, which Baldoni denies.
The judge left in place three claims against Baldoni, involving retaliation and aiding and abetting in retaliation, leaving those accusations for a trial in New York in May.
A judge last year dismissed Baldoni's $400m (£295m) counter-lawsuit against Lively which alleged civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.
The case stems from interactions between Baldoni and Lively on the set of It Ends With Us, an adaption of a best-selling Colleen Hoover novel, which features Lively as the main character, Lily Bloom, a young woman who grew up witnessing domestic abuse and finds herself in the same position years later.
Lively filed a suit against Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios in December 2024, alleging Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and retaliated against her for bringing those complaints, among other allegations.
Lively's legal team have accused Baldoni and his film studio Wayfarer of leading a "multi-tiered plan" to wreck her reputation, which included social media manipulation and using friendly journalists to further certain narratives. She shared details of the allegations in a New York Times article published before her lawsuit.
Baldoni's legal team have said the allegations against him are "categorically false" and argued they hired a crisis public relations manager because Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.
Baldoni brought defamation suits against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, claiming they were aiming to ruin his career and reputation with the allegations, as well as the New York Times.
He alleged that Lively "stole the film" from him and his production company Wayfarer by threatening not to promote it, and that she and others perpetuated a false narrative that Baldoni sexually assaulted her and launched a smear campaign against her.
But in June, Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Baldoni's suit, saying his team had "not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions".
The legal battle between the two has lasted over a year, and the pair are due to go on trial on 18 May over the remaining claims in Lively's suit.
The BBC has contacted lawyers for Baldoni and Lively for comment.
