Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are attempting to have Justin Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against them dismissed.
According to court documents Variety was able to obtain, the former Gossip Girl star and her husband’s attorneys notified a judge in New York City of their intentions in a notice filed on Thursday.
“The Lively-Reynolds Parties intend to move to dismiss Plaintiffs’ complaint,” said Michael J. Gottlieb.
In the past, Judge Lewis Liman had asked the attorneys to “indicate in one sentence the Defendant’s intent to make a motion to dismiss” in a written notice.
According to the publication, Liman will specify a later date for the motion’s actual filing.
A similar notice was issued on Wednesday by publicist Leslie Sloane, who was also named as a defendant in Baldoni’s lawsuit.
The first hearing in the continuing legal drama between Lively and her co-star is set for Monday, and solicitors from all sides are expected to be there.
Lively, who plays Lily Bloom in the movie, initially complained to the California Civil Rights Department on December 20 about the 41-year-old Baldoni’s sexual harassment of her on the set.
She also claimed that the former cast member of Jane the Virgin launched a smear campaign against her in retaliation.
In response to Lively’s allegations, Baldoni filed a defamation and extortion lawsuit against her, Reynolds, and Sloane, the actress’ publicist, earlier this month.
At the end of December 2024, he also sued the New York Times for $250 million in libel for publishing Lively’s assertions.
Baldoni’s lawsuit alleged that Lively rewrote parts of the script and “began inserting herself into the production process in intrusive ways well beyond the scope of her contractual entitlement.”
In a formal lawsuit filed in New York Federal Court on December 31, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and lost income.
The A Simple Favour actress claimed that Baldoni made her feel uneasy during their collaboration. She said that Baldoni spoke to her “out of character” in addition to making sexually provocative remarks.
Baldoni attempted to disprove Lively’s allegations by releasing raw footage from It Ends With Us, but her team has referred to the film as “damning” and said it supported Lively’s assertions.
