Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s court-ordered meeting ended without a settlement Wednesday, setting the stage for a civil trial in May.
The pair arrived at a federal courthouse under court order. Baldoni was accompanied by his wife Emily while Lively attended alone. The meeting was set for the actors to reach an agreement without having to move forward with their civil trial, which is scheduled to start on May 18.
The legal dispute dates back to December 2024 when Lively sued Baldoni, her “This Ends With Us” co-star and director. She accused him of sexual harassment on set, and claimed he retaliated against her after she spoke up about his alleged behavior. As part of the retaliation, Lively said Baldoni and his team launched a smear campaign against her, which she said impacted her financially and professionally.
In January 2025, Baldoni hit Lively back with a $400 million countersuit, accusing her, her husband Ryan Reynolds and others of defamation, extortion and more. A judge dismissed Baldoni’s pursuit in June 2025, though he still has the option to appeal the decision. In December 2025, Lively’s team filed a motion to have a judge block Baldoni’s attempt to dismiss Lively’s lawsuit against him and Wayfarer Studios, his production company that co-produced the film.
In November, Baldoni and his legal team filed a motion asking the court to toss out Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit, calling the actress’ case a “litany of minor grievances” that did not prove that he and his production company actually created an “objectively hostile” environment on the set of “It Ends With Us.”
Lively’s legal team argued that Baldoni is attempting to “avoid accountability” for his actions by trying to have her case thrown out as well.
“In their latest effort to avoid accountability for the hostile environment they created during the production and marketing of ‘It Ends With Us,’ Justin Baldoni, [Wayfarer Studios CEO] Jamey Heath, [Wayfarer Studios co-founder] Steve Sarowitz, and their co-defendants ask this Court to shield them from trial, and deny Blake Lively her day in court, by throwing the kitchen sink at Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims,” the motion insisted.
Their Wednesday conference was the first time Lively and Baldoni were in the same rom since the competition of principal photography for “It With Us.”
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