Jane the Virgin alum Justin Baldoni just suffered a major blow in court this week after a judge dismissed his countersuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, and The New York Times.
Baldoni had filed a whopping $400 million lawsuit, accusing Lively, Reynolds, and their team of extortion and defamation. The judge also tossed out a separate $250 million defamation suit the actor filed against The Times.
But it’s not over just yet. According to court documents, the judge ruled that Baldoni’s legal team still has the option to amend their claims regarding breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with the contract if they act by June 23.
“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged,” Judge Liman wrote in court documents.
“The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and [publicist Leslie] Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that the Times made additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign. But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law … The Wayfarer Parties’ additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety.”
All parties, except Baldoni’s, celebrated the legal win.