NEW YORK (AP) — A decide on Monday dismissed the lawsuit filed by actor and director Justin Baldoni in opposition to his “It Ends With Us” costar Blake Full of life after she sued him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
U.S. District Court docket Choose Lewis Liman’s choice is the most recent growth within the bitter authorized battle surrounding the darkish romantic drama that features Full of life suing Baldoni in late December.
Baldoni and manufacturing firm Wayfarer Studios countersued in January for $400 million, accusing Full of life and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, of defamation and extortion.
The decide dominated that Baldoni can’t sue Full of life for defamation over claims she made in her lawsuit, as a result of allegations made in a lawsuit are exempt from libel claims. Liman additionally dominated that Baldoni’s claims that Full of life stole artistic management of the movie did not depend as extortion beneath California regulation.
Whereas Full of life was accused within the lawsuit of threatening to refuse to advertise the movie, Wayfarer does “not allege facts showing that Lively had an obligation to promote the film or to approve marketing materials,” Liman wrote.
Baldoni’s authorized group can revise the lawsuit in the event that they wish to pursue completely different claims associated as to if Full of life breached a contract, the decide stated.
“It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel that begins as a romance however takes a darkish flip into home violence, was launched in August, exceeding field workplace expectations with a $50 million debut. However the film’s launch was shrouded by hypothesis over discord between Full of life and Baldoni.
The decide additionally dismissed Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit in opposition to The New York Instances, which had reported on Full of life’s sexual harassment allegations.
“As we speak’s opinion is a complete victory and an entire vindication for Blake Full of life, together with those who Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Events dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, together with Ryan Reynolds, (publicist) Leslie Sloane and The New York Instances,” Full of life’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, stated in a ready assertion.
The legal professionals stated they “look forward to the next round” of searching for attorneys’ charges, treble damages and punitive damages.
The Related Press despatched emails searching for remark to Baldoni’s attorneys.
Full of life appeared within the 2005 movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the TV collection “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012 earlier than starring in movies together with “The Town” and “The Shallows.”
Baldoni starred within the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 movie “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a ebook difficult conventional notions of masculinity.
