Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and NYT off the hook in Justin Baldoni’s $650M lawsuits — Here’s why the judge tossed them out

In a major legal setback, Justin Baldoni has had two high-profile lawsuits dismissed, one against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist, and another against The New York Times.

On Monday (June 9), Judge Lewis J. Liman granted motions to dismiss both the $400 million countersuit filed by Baldoni and his company Wayfarer Studios, and the $250 million defamation suit against the Times.

Judge says allegations lacked legal backing

Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties had accused Lively and Reynolds of extortion and defamation, while also claiming the Times made defamatory statements. However, Judge Liman ruled that the claims did not meet the legal threshold required.

According to the judge’s order, the allegations against Lively were based only on statements made in her CRD (Civil Rights Division) complaint, which are legally privileged and therefore cannot form the basis of a defamation case.

“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged,” the judge stated in the official court filing obtained by PEOPLE.

Claims against Reynolds, publicist and Times also dismissed

The judge also dismissed claims against Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane, and the Times, noting that Baldoni’s legal team had not shown that any of them acted with actual malice, a key requirement in defamation cases.

“There was no allegation that Reynolds, Sloane or the Times would have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them,” the court order read.

The judge concluded that the entire amended complaint must be dismissed, although Baldoni’s lawyers have been allowed to revise and resubmit certain claims, including breach of implied covenant and tortious interference, by 23 June.

Lively had earlier dropped some claims

This decision follows an earlier development in the same legal battle. Blake Lively had withdrawn two emotional distress claims against Baldoni after his legal team asked her to submit medical records to support her case.

While her lawyers described the move as a “routine” effort to streamline the case, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman criticised the actress in March. He said, “Her attempt to try and dismiss herself from the self-concocted disaster she initiated is one of the most abhorrent examples of abusing our legal system.”