Blake Lively's lawyers make new demand of Justin Baldoni as their legal stalemate drags on

Lawyers representing Blake Lively in her case against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni have made a new demand of his attorneys with just over one month to go before the trial is set to begin.

Lively's attorneys alleged in an April 7 letter to US District Judge Lewis Liman that Baldoni and his co-defendants have not confirmed whether they will provide testimony at the trial in court or just via deposition.

They asked the defendants to provide them with the information by Wednesday so that they could properly prepare for the trial, which is scheduled to begin on May 18.

'The presence or absence of those parties at trial will substantially affect the presentation of evidence, including the order of witnesses, the parties' preparation for testimony and the Court's pre-trial rulings,' Lively's attorneys argued.

'Defendants' refusal to provide this straightforward information to Ms Lively appears designed to manufacture a strategic advantage by depriving Ms Lively of information that will substantially influence her ability to complete, in a timely fashion, the witness and exhibit lists, as well as other exchanges completed in the forthcoming Joint Pretrial Order,' they alleged.

Baldoni's co-defendants include Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath, Wayfarer Studios co-founder Steve Sarowitz, crisis public relations specialist Melissa Nathan and publicist Jennifer Abel.

The upcoming trial is set to focus on claims that Baldoni and his co-defendants engaged in an alleged ‘smear campaign’ started by his PR team.

Liman has previously dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including all of her sexual harassment allegations.

The two parties now remain in a stalemate, after both Lively and Baldoni rejected their latest effort to settle their legal troubles before the trial.

The Daily Mail understands that no agreement has been reached in the behind-closed-doors hearings in New York on Monday - but more talks could take place soon.

The meetings on Monday were described by Judge Liman as a chance for both sides to tell the court about their ‘updated settlement position.'

At the federal court in New York, Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave held back-to-back remote phone conferences with lawyers for the two sides on Monday, with Lively going first.

Baldoni’s spokespeople did not provide a statement. 

Lively claimed in her lawsuit, which was filed in December 2024, that she suffered at least $161 million in damages after Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set and then launched an online ‘smear campaign’ against her.

Baldoni had also filed his own lawsuit, a $400 million defamation case against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds as well as the New York Times.

The judge had earlier dismissed his case entirely.

In his ruling dismissing most of Lively’s claims, Judge Liman disagreed that Baldoni crossed the boundaries during filming of a dance scene when he added unscripted kisses.

In the film Lively played florist Lily Bloom who gets into an abusive relationship with Baldoni, who played neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid.

In his ruling, Judge Liman wrote: ‘Creative artists, no less than comedy room writers, must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment’.

Nor did Baldoni ‘fat shame’ Lively when he asked her personal trainer about her weight, the judge said.

‘The physical appearance of the protagonists was part of the product that the producers were intending to offer the audience’, the judge wrote.

‘Lively herself recognized that achieving a ‘certain aesthetic’ was ‘part of the job that we both excitedly signed up for’.

Many of Lively’s claims were dismissed because she did not sign a legal document, known as the Actor Loanout Agreement, which would have governed sexual harassment.

In addition, Lively had so much control over the film that she did not qualify as an employee, so could not sue under the laws she cited, the judge found.

But in a win for Lively, Judge Liman did find that there was enough evidence of a retaliation campaign for a jury to decide whether it took place.

The remaining claims that will go to trial are: breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting retaliation, all of which Baldoni denies.

In a statement after the judge’s decision last week, Baldoni’s lawyers Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach said they were ‘very pleased’ with the ruling.

Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal team, told the Daily Mail, 'This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial’.

Lively ‘looks forward to testifying at trial,’ McCawley added.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Baldoni's attorneys for comment.