Justin Baldoni loses his million-dollar countersuit against Blake Lively
A federal judge in New York officially closed Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit after deadlines for the actor-director to file an amended version of his lawsuit passed.
The judicial conflict began last December, when Lively accused Baldoni of inappropriate conduct on the filming of It Ends with Usa film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel in which they both star and produce.
(Courtesy / Universal+)
The actress alleged that the director had created a hostile environment and subsequently launched a smear campaign against him.
Baldoni categorically denied the accusations and responded with a million-dollar countersuit in which he was accompanied by his production company Wayfarer Studios. In it, he accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and other associates of defaming and extorting him, claiming that their statements had damaged his reputation and career.
Judge Lewis Liman, of the Southern District of New York, ruled on October 31 that the case was closed and terminated as no new brief had been filed after the initial dismissal in June.
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At the time, the court had already rejected both Baldoni’s countersuit and a separate $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times tied to the same media conflict.