Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in legal stalemate as settlement talks fall apart
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni rejected the latest efforts to resolve their legal battle after meeting with a judge in New York on Monday.
Both sides have refused to settle the bitter lawsuit over allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation by Baldoni on the set of the movie It Ends With Us, in which he starred opposite Lively.
The Daily Mail understands that no agreement was reached in the closed-door hearings, but further talks could be held soon.
Lawyers for Lively and Baldoni have been contacted for comment.
The hearings took place three days after Judge Lewis Liman, who presided over the case, dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including all allegations of sexual harassment.
The case goes to trial on May 18, but only on three charges related to an alleged “smear campaign” by Baldoni’s PR team.
Monday’s meetings were described by Judge Liman as a chance for both parties to brief the court on their ‘updated settlement positions’.
Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave in federal court in New York held back-to-back remote phone conferences with attorneys on both sides on Monday, with Lively first in line.
Baldoni’s spokesmen did not make any statement.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni refused Monday to end their bitter legal case over Baldoni’s alleged sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the movie It Ends With Us, in which he starred with Lively.
The hearings took place three days after Judge Lewis Liman, who presided over the case, dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including all allegations of sexual harassment.
The two played love interests in the movie It Ends With Us, based on the book written by Coleen Hoover.
In the lawsuit she filed in December 2024, Lively claimed that she suffered losses of at least $161 million after Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set and then launched a ‘smear campaign’ against her on the internet.
Baldoni had also filed his own lawsuit, a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well as the New York Times.
The judge had previously dismissed the case entirely.
In his ruling rejecting most of Lively’s claims, Judge Liman challenged the idea that Baldoni overstepped boundaries by adding unscripted kisses during the filming of a dance scene.
In the film, Lively played Lily Bloom, a florist who enters into an abusive relationship with Baldoni, who plays neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid.
In his ruling, Judge Liman wrote: ‘Creative artists, no less than comedy room writers, should have some leeway to experiment within the confines of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment.’
When the judge asked Baldoni’s personal trainer about her weight, he said Lively was “not ashamed of being fat.”
‘The physical appearance of the protagonists was part of the product that the producers planned to present to the audience,’ the jury wrote.
‘Lively herself realized that achieving ‘a certain aesthetic’ was ‘part of the work we were both enthusiastic about.’
Many of Lively’s claims were dismissed because she did not sign a legal document governing sexual harassment, known as the Actor Credit Agreement.
Additionally, the judge found that Lively had so much control over the film that she did not qualify as an employee, so she could not sue under the laws he cited.
But in Lively’s win, Judge Liman found there was enough evidence for the jury to decide whether the retaliatory campaign would occur.
Other claims that will go to trial include: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation; Baldoni denies all of this.
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He is seen walking out of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan alive on February 11, 2026 in New York City
Baldoni’s lawyers, Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, said in a statement following the judge’s decision last week that they were “very pleased” with the decision.
Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal team, told the Daily Mail: ‘This case has always been, and will continue to be, focused on devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation for standing up for her safety on set, and this case will also go to trial.’
McCawley added that Lively “looks forward to testifying at trial.”
