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\nBlake Lively’s lawyers responded to Justin Baldoni’s motion for summary judgment, making their case for proceeding to trial”This is not, as Defendants claim, a story of minor annoyances fueled by creative differences,” her team wroteThe trial is currently slated for March 2026 in New York<\/p>\n
Blake Lively<\/a>‘s lawyers are arguing why her case against Justin Baldoni<\/a> should proceed to trial.\n<\/p>\n Baldoni’s legal team filed a motion for summary judgment in November asking Judge Lewis J. Liman to toss Lively’s lawsuit<\/a> and avoid the trial that’s set for March 2026.\n<\/p>\n On Thursday, Dec. 4, Lively’s attorneys filed their opposition to his motion, presenting their argument for why the judge should deny the request and move forward with the trial.\n<\/p>\n “This is not, as Defendants claim, a story of minor annoyances fueled by creative differences, but instead one of a toxic work environment…,” the actress’ lawyers wrote in the filing.\n<\/p>\n Lively’s legal team claimed Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties have “peddled their victimization narrative” and painted her as the “bully” to “avoid accountability for the hostile environment they created” on the It Ends With Us set.\n<\/p>\n Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of ‘It Ends With Us’ on Jan. 12, 2024.<\/p>\n Jose Perez\/Bauer-Griffin\/GC Images<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n Baldoni and the co-defendants are trying to “shield [themselves] from trial, and deny Blake Lively her day in court, by throwing the kitchen sink at Lively\u2019s sexual harassment and retaliation claims,” her lawyers claimed in the filing. “But Defendants\u2019 scattershot theories collapse under the weight of the overwhelming evidence.”\n<\/p>\n In the November motion for summary judgment, Baldoni’s lawyers argued, “When viewed in context, no reasonable juror could find that the handful of comments and miscommunications Lively has mustered amounts to sexual harassment.” They added, “No reasonable juror could find that Lively suffered an adverse employment action in any traditional sense.”\n<\/p>\n Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni.<\/p>\n Kevin Mazur\/WireImage; Araya Doheny\/Variety via Getty<\/p>\n In December 2024, Lively, 38, sued her costar-director Baldoni, 41, and others for sexual harassment and retaliation, which he denies. His subsequent $400 million countersuit against her, alleging extortion and defamation, has since been dismissed by the judge.\n<\/p>\n “Our clients chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights,” Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said in November about the countersuit<\/a>. He added, “In the meantime, we are focusing on Ms. Lively\u2019s claims. We remain fully committed to pursuing the truth through every legal and factual avenue available and look forward to our day in court.”\n<\/p>\n