A federal judge dismissed Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios’ $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively and other defendants on June 9, 2025, because key claims had legal defects as pleaded. Judge Lewis Liman concluded that statements in Lively’s legal complaint could not support the defamation claims and that Baldoni’s allegation that she used extortion to gain creative control did not meet California’s civil-extortion standard, according to the Associated Press. The case formally ended on October 31, 2025, after Baldoni and Wayfarer did not file an amended complaint.
What Baldoni and Wayfarer alleged
In January 2025, Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane. They sought $400 million and alleged defamation and extortion, among other claims. Those were allegations made by Baldoni and Wayfarer; the amount was a damages demand, not money awarded by the court.
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The suit followed Lively’s separate December 2024 complaint, which accused Baldoni and others of sexual misconduct and retaliation. The cases concerned related events, but they were distinct legal actions. The dismissal of Baldoni and Wayfarer’s suit did not decide every factual allegation in Lively’s case.
Why the judge dismissed the countersuit
Statements in Lively’s legal complaint
As the Associated Press reported on June 9, 2025, Liman ruled that claims based on statements in Lively’s legal complaint were exempt from libel claims. In other words, the countersuit could not use those statements as the basis for defamation liability.
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The civil-extortion claim
Baldoni argued that Lively sought creative control over the film. The judge concluded that this allegation did not amount to civil extortion under California law, according to the AP’s account of the ruling. The court was assessing whether the pleaded conduct met the legal standard for that claim, not deciding whether every allegation in the broader dispute was true or false.
The June ruling left room for Baldoni and Wayfarer to revise certain contract-related claims. It did not mean that the $400 million demand had been awarded, nor did it resolve Lively’s separate claims.
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Dismissal and final judgment were different steps
| Date | What happened | Procedural effect |
|---|---|---|
| June 9, 2025 | Judge Liman dismissed the countersuit’s claims as pleaded. | The ruling allowed a limited opportunity to amend certain contract-related claims. |
| October 31, 2025 | After no amended complaint was filed by the deadline, Liman entered final judgment. | The countersuit was formally ended. |
Baldoni and Wayfarer did not submit an amended complaint. ABC News reported on June 24, 2025, that Baldoni had decided not to amend and that his lawyer said they would pursue other legal options. The Los Angeles Times and ABC later reported the October 31 final judgment. Coverage at the time said an appeal remained possible, but that reporting does not establish whether an appeal was filed or resolved afterward.
A later ruling awarded Lively fees and costs
On August 26, 2026, Liman ordered Baldoni and Wayfarer to pay Lively $363,245 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206 in costs associated with defending against the countersuit’s defamation claims, according to the Associated Press in The Washington Post. The combined award was $407,451. Lively had sought $8 million in legal costs, and the judge denied most of her request. The award covered defending against defamation claims, not every claim in the countersuit; it was separate from the $400 million Baldoni and Wayfarer had sought.
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The wider dispute also had its own later developments: the parties settled the main dispute in May 2026, ahead of trial, according to the AP. That settlement and the August fee ruling belong to the separate procedural history of Lively’s claims and the countersuit, respectively; neither changes why the countersuit was dismissed in June 2025.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the dismissal does—and does not—establish
- It establishes: the pleaded defamation and extortion theories described in the AP account could not proceed on the legal grounds the judge identified.
- It does not establish: that every underlying accusation made by either side was true or false.
- It does not mean: Baldoni and Wayfarer received the $400 million they demanded; they did not.
- It is distinct from: the rulings and settlement in Lively’s separate action.
After the June ruling, Lively’s lawyers called it a “total victory.” Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman disputed that characterization, saying it was “false.” Those were opposing lawyers’ descriptions of the outcome, not the court’s holding.
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