Justin Baldoni and the trial that remains: what a judge’s dismissal means for Blake Lively’s case

At 5 p. m. ET on Thursday, a hearing was expected to begin over Zoom, the kind of remote proceeding that can feel oddly intimate: faces boxed into grids, lawyers reading from prepared notes, the stakes measured in sentences. At the center sits justin baldoni, facing a lawsuit from actor Blake Lively tied to the set of “It Ends With Us, ” and a court ruling that dramatically narrowed what will be argued in front of a jury.

What did the judge decide in the case involving Justin Baldoni?

A federal judge, Lewis Liman, dismissed most claims in Blake Lively’s lawsuit that accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, based on a court ruling issued Thursday. Judge Liman tossed out 10 of Lively’s 13 claims against Baldoni, including harassment, defamation, and conspiracy. Three claims were allowed to proceed to trial: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation.

The ruling reshapes the case’s public outline: what remains headed toward trial is not the full set of claims Lively brought, but a narrower set focused on alleged retaliation and contractual issues.

What allegations and defenses are still shaping the dispute?

Lively’s lawyers have argued that their client was “kissed, nuzzled and touched” without her consent, describing Baldoni as “consistently inappropriate” and saying he crossed “boundaries” on set. Lively also accused Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, of orchestrating a punitive “smear campaign” after she spoke out about what she alleged was a toxic work environment he created on the set of the movie, released in 2024.

In a January court hearing, an attorney for Baldoni argued that Lively knew “It Ends With Us” would feature “hot and sexy scenes” when she signed on, suggesting the allegations of harassment were part of the creative process behind the movie.

Those competing narratives now sit inside a legal frame that has been narrowed by the dismissal of most claims, leaving a trial focused on breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation—rather than the full range of allegations originally pleaded.

How did the lawsuit reach this point, and what happens next?

The dispute began before it became a federal case. Lively initially filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on Dec. 20, 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. She then filed a federal civil lawsuit against him on Dec. 31, 2024. In late February, she filed an amended complaint expanding the defendants to include Baldoni as well as his company, the firm’s chief executive, and other defendants.

Baldoni filed a countersuit against Lively seeking $400 million, but a federal judge tossed that case.

As the litigation continues, representatives for the two actors did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the judge’s ruling. The expected Zoom hearing at 5 p. m. ET underscores that the case is still active and moving through procedure, even after the sweeping dismissal of claims.

For now, the court’s decision draws a boundary around what will be tested at trial: not the full set of accusations and counter-accusations swirling around the set of a high-profile film, but the surviving questions a jury may eventually be asked to answer. And for justin baldoni, the story shifts from the breadth of allegations to the narrow, consequential dispute that remains.