It’s looking like the It Ends With Us legal saga will never end. On Jan. 30, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ attorneys informed a federal judge that they intend to file a motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against them, according to reports from Variety and Us Weekly.
The couple’s attorneys are seeking a dismissal on Baldoni’s $400 million suit. Judge Lewis Liman, who is presiding over the case, requested a letter that would “indicate in one sentence the Defendant’s intent to make a motion to dismiss.”
“The Lively-Reynolds Parties intend to move to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint,” Michael J. Gottlieb, the couple’s legal representative, submitted to Liman, per Variety. Leslie Sloane, a publicist for Lively and Reynolds who was also named in Baldoni’s suit, filed a similar notice on Jan. 29.
The legal back-and-forth started in December when Lively filed a legal complaint, which accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her when they worked together on It Ends With Us. (Baldoni was her co-star and the film’s director.) Lively’s complaint claimed that Baldoni and his PR team launched a smear campaign against her after she came forward about his alleged inappropriate behavior — including showing nude videos to cast members, mentioning past pornography addictions, unscripted kissing or intimate touching scenes, and a lack of an intimacy coordinator.
Baldoni is suing the New York Times for libel after the outlet published a story, detailing Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and a smear campaign.
Following Lively’s complaint, Baldoni was dropped by his agency WME.
In response, Baldoni sued Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane for civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage. The suit also claims that Lively and Reynolds pressured WME to drop Baldoni as a client, which WME denies.
Lively’s team called Baldoni’s suit a “desperate” attempt to shift blame. “This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement given to People on Jan. 16. “This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim.”
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