Lawyers for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are due to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday for a last pretrial session before a civil trial slated to begin in May. The upcoming trial will be narrowly confined to actress Blake Lively's retaliation claims against the production company linked to Baldoni, following a judge's decision to dismiss her sexual harassment allegations.
Judicial rulings earlier this year narrowed the scope of the case. In an April 2 decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman rejected Lively's sexual harassment claims, leaving the retaliation claim against Baldoni's production company to proceed. Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, have denied the allegations made by Lively.
The Tuesday hearing is expected to feature arguments from both sides about potential monetary awards and disputes over the admissibility of evidence that could be introduced at the May trial. Court filings and commentary from the parties indicate that both Lively and Baldoni are likely to take the witness stand as the litigation proceeds, after more than a year of public and contentious legal exchanges.
In her December 2024 complaint, Lively alleged that Baldoni, who directed and co-starred in the 2024 romantic drama "It Ends With Us," used his position on set to foster a sexually charged environment that marginalized women. She also accused him of launching a campaign to discredit her after she complained about those conditions.
Lively's lawsuit named Baldoni, Wayfarer and other parties and asserted claims including harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil rights statutes. Following the judge's April ruling, the litigation will now concentrate on the retaliation claim tied to the production company, rather than the dismissed sexual harassment claims.
Baldoni, who is 42 years old, has maintained that he addressed Lively's concerns promptly when they were raised. He has also defended his decision to engage a crisis management firm after Lively made public statements he characterized as disparaging. In response to Lively's suit, Baldoni filed a countersuit seeking $400 million in damages, alleging that Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds sought to destroy his reputation. That countersuit was dismissed by Judge Liman in June.
What to watch at Tuesday's hearing
- Legal briefs over the scope of recoverable damages if Lively prevails on her retaliation claim.
- Disputes regarding which documents, testimony and other evidence will be allowed at trial.
- Scheduling and logistical issues for witness testimony, including the potential for both principal parties to testify.
The case has attracted sustained media attention throughout more than a year of acrimonious and widely publicized litigation. With the sexual harassment claims removed from the case record, the May trial will test narrower legal issues centered on whether actions taken in response to Lively's complaints constituted unlawful retaliation by the production company.