Blake Lively’s legal team has hit back after a federal judge dismissed her sexual harassment claims against Justin Baldoni, insisting the ruling was a legal technicality rather than any vindication for It ends with us director.
Attorney Michael Gottlieb said in a statement shared with PEOPLE that Lively’s allegations of harassment “have always been the beating heart of Ms. Lively’s case. That’s why she filed her lawsuit.”
He was aware that the dismissal did not reflect the merits of these allegations.
“The court’s ruling that Ms. Lively’s state and federal harassment claims could not be tried was about legal issues rather than an endorsement of the defendants’ conduct,” he said, explaining that the claims were barred on technical grounds, Lively had not signed a contract, was classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee, and the alleged conduct occurred in New Jersey instead of California.
Federal Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed ten of the thirteen claims Lively filed against Baldoni on Thursday, April 2, including the harassment charges, ahead of a trial scheduled for May 18 in New York.
What remains, breach of contract and a retaliation claim under the Fair Employment and Housing Act against Baldoni’s company, Wayfarer Studios, will go to a jury.
Both Lively and Baldoni are expected to testify.
Baldoni’s side wasted no time in framing the ruling as a significant victory.
His lawyers described themselves as “very satisfied” that all harassment claims and any claims against the individual defendants had been dismissed, calling what remained “a significantly narrowed case.”
In a separate statement to TMZattorney Bryan Freedman went further.
“Neither Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath nor any of the other defendants engaged in sexual harassment of Blake Lively,” he said, adding that his clients had “deserved a vigorous defense conducted through transparency.”
Gottlieb shot back sharply.
“Claiming immunity based on legal technicalities while you’re facing trial next month tells you all you need to know,” he said, noting that Freedman hadn’t even argued the summary judgment he was now making public, had sued another company and had been reprimanded by the court the previous week for filing legally frivolous claims.
“What the court actually decided yesterday was that Blake Lively presented evidence to go to trial on her core claim,” Gottlieb said.
Lively first filed her sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, alleging on-set misconduct and a coordinated retaliatory smear campaign, which Baldoni has denied.
Baldoni’s own counterclaims against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alleging extortion and defamation, were dismissed by the same judge in June 2025, with his legal team choosing not to file them again.
