Justin Baldoni walks away from Blake Lively lawsuit

Justin Baldoni has stepped back from his eye-popping $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively, but his lawyer insists this is far from the end.

The Five Feet Apart actor and director originally sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist last year, accusing them of defamation and extortion.

Reportedly, he also filed a separate $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times.

But in June, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed the suits, giving Baldoni’s team a chance to fix and refile parts of their claims, a deadline that came and went on June 23.

According to the 41-year-old actor’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, that was a deliberate choice. 

“No deadlines were missed. Our clients chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights,” he told PEOPLE. 

Freedman added that the case had been “distorted in the media” and said they remain focused on “pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue.”

The judge officially closed the countersuit on October 31 after It Ends with Us actress requested a final judgment and to keep her request for legal fees active.

The 38-year-old actress, who has accused the Everwood star of misconduct and a retaliatory smear campaign, said earlier this year that such lawsuits can cause “manufactured shame.” 

Her original case continues, with a trial set for March 2026, which means this Hollywood feud is far from finished.

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