Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against Blake Lively thrown out by judge

Blake Lively’s legal team is claiming “total victory” after a judge threw out Justin Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against the actress and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

On Monday, Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the entire lawsuit filed by Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company, which accused his It Ends With Us costar of extortion, defamation, and breach of contract. In his ruling, Liman found that since Lively’s claims against Baldoni were first made in a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (which was then reported on by the The New York Times), the claims are covered by litigation privilege and not considered defamatory.

Liman also dismissed the claims of defamation made against Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, and Reynolds, in addition to the $250 million defamation suit Baldoni filed against the Times over the publication’s story that first brought Lively’s allegations to light.

“The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and 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,” Liman wrote. “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.”

In short, Liman found that Reynolds, Sloane and the Times did not defame Baldoni by relying on Lively’s account, as they had no reason to doubt her version of events.

While the defamation claims have been dismissed, the judge noted that Baldoni’s legal team can still amend and refile the claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract, with a deadline of June 23.

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Lively’s attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb said, “Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times.”

They continued, “As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, [Wayfarer co-founder Steve] Sarowitz, [publicist Melissa] Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”

A spokesperson for the New York Times said in a statement, “We are grateful to the court for seeing the lawsuit for what it was: a meritless attempt to stifle honest reporting. Our journalists went out and covered carefully and fairly a story of public importance, and the court recognized that the law is designed to protect just that sort of journalism. We will continue to stand up in court for our journalism and for our journalists when their work comes under attack.”

Representatives for Baldoni didn’t immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

Baldoni’s lawsuit came after Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in December, accusing her costar and director of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us and claiming that he orchestrated a smear campaign against her in the aftermath. She subsequently filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer in New York federal court.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Baldoni then countersued, accusing Lively and Reynolds of hijacking It Ends With Us and waging a smear campaign against him.  The lawsuit requested at least $400 million in damages.

Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni is set to go to trial in March.