Blake Lively Hit With New Setback Right After Justin Baldoni Settlement
Judge Lewis J. Liman just shut down Blake Lively’s latest bid in her It Ends With Us courtroom clash with Justin Baldoni, denying her request to file extra briefs and add more information to the case.
Quick update on the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni legal saga tied to their movie It Ends With Us: the judge just shut down a last-minute attempt by Lively to add more paperwork to the pile.
What the judge just did
On Tuesday, May 12, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman denied Blake Lively's request to file extra briefs and slip in more information. In plain English: the court does not want more reading before deciding whether Lively (38) gets any attorneys fees or other damages out of this. TMZ flagged the ruling first; Us Weekly says it reviewed the paperwork and has reached out to both sides for comment.
Where the case stands now
Both sides said on May 4 that they struck a settlement, which took a looming New York City trial off the calendar later this month. The joint statement from their legal teams managed to be both proud of the movie and diplomatic about the mess around it, including one line that Lively's camp has clearly zeroed in on:
"We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard."
A few days after that announcement, Lively filed a notice of settlement that still asks the court to award her attorneys fees and costs, plus compensatory and punitive damages. Her lawyers framed the settlement as a resounding win, saying the defendants waived any right to appeal, now face potential personal liability, and effectively ended the narrative that she fabricated allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation.
Baldoni's side read the same settlement very differently. His attorney Bryan Freedman called it a total victory for them, pointing out that the court had already tossed 10 of Lively's 13 claims — including every sexual harassment claim, every defamation claim, and all claims against the individual defendants — and that Lively voluntarily dismissed the rest. In his telling, the only thing left is a narrow fees issue the court has been sitting with since September 2025.
How we got here (short version)
- December 2024: Lively sues Baldoni (her costar and director ), his publicity team, and others, alleging sexual harassment, a hostile work environment, and a smear campaign; she also claims retaliation after speaking up.
- Baldoni denies everything and countersues Lively.
- June 2025: A judge dismisses Baldoni's countersuit.
- April: Lively gets a major setback when most of her claims are dismissed.
- May 4: Both sides announce a settlement, avoiding a New York City trial slated for later in May.
- May 7: Dueling spin. Lively's team calls the settlement a sweeping win; Baldoni's attorney (Baldoni is 42) says the court had already tossed 10 of 13 claims and the rest were dropped voluntarily, leaving only a narrow fees question.
- May 12: Judge Liman denies Lively's bid to file extra briefing, saying he does not need more input before ruling on whether she gets any fees or damages.
What to watch next
The fees-and-damages question is now fully in Judge Liman's hands, with no more side memos allowed. The broader fight is technically settled, but both camps are still very much telling their preferred version of the story. As soon as there is a ruling on money — and any comment from either team — we will update. Us Weekly says it has reached out to both sides; no new comment yet.