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Final Judgment Closes Justin Baldoni’s Defamation Suits After Missed Appeal Deadline

Attention now shifts to Lively’s harassment suit set for March alongside her request for attorneys’ fees.

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman entered final judgment Friday after Baldoni and Wayfarer missed the window to amend or appeal and did not respond to an Oct. 17 show-cause order.
  • The ruling closes Baldoni’s $400 million defamation case against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane and his $250 million libel claim against The New York Times.
  • Liman’s June dismissal rested on litigation privilege protecting statements in Lively’s civil-rights complaint and on the privilege covering the Times’ reporting.
  • Lively’s separate sexual-harassment and retaliation case against Baldoni remains active and is slated for a March trial, according to court filings.
  • Lively has moved to recover millions in attorneys’ fees and alleges evidence concealment and coordinated PR tactics, including auto-deleting messages, in ongoing discovery disputes.