Topics: News, US News, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Ryan Reynolds, Celebrity
Blake Lively’s court battle with Justin Baldoni has concluded, and he could be set to pay out massive sums.
The past year has seen actress Blake Lively and her co-star Justin Baldoni clashing in a legal battle that Lively launched last year December.
She accused him of sexual harassment and of creating a smear campaign against her. In response, he filed his own $400,000,000 defamation lawsuit against her and her husband Ryan Reynolds, the couple’s publicist, and the New York Times. He claimed civil extortion, defamation, and an invasion of privacy.
Baldoni’s case was dismissed in June by a judge, but he was afforded the opportunity to file an amended complaint.
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In a statement earlier this year, a New York Times spokesperson said they were pleased with the judgment, as they said (via Complex): “We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting."
Seemingly celebrating the move, Lively and her legal team argued that the lawsuit was a 'sham' to begin with and that the decision to remove it was ultimately 'victory'.
According to a BBC report, Judge Lewis Liman said that Baldoni had failed to do so even though the judge contacted all of the parties on October 17 saying he would enter a final judgement to conclude the case.
Only Lively responded to this and requested her legal fees remain active, a move the judge agreed to.
While a total monetary figure has not been made public, this could mean that Baldoni will have to play significantly to cover her legal fees she has accrued. According to a Variety, in September, Lively’s attorney confirmed that her legal fees had reached into the millions of dollars.
They filed a motion that argued she should be awarded ‘multiple millions of dollars’ to cover her attorneys’ fees and that the actress will also be seeking treble damages for the economic, emotional and psychological harms this episode has had on her.
Despite the anticipation that Baldoni could be paying out a lot of money, he still retains the right to appeal the judgement once the court resolves motions related to Lively’s request to have her legal fees covered. It is not clear whether the actor intends to do this.
Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni remains ongoing in Manhattan federal court.
UNILAD has previously contacted Baldoni and Lively's representatives for comment.
