Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are planning to ask a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by her director, Justin Baldoni, earlier this month.
The Hollywood power couple’s attorney, Michael Gottlieb, stated their intention to Judge Lewis Liman in a letter, as reported by Variety after reviewing legal documents related to the case.
Previously, Judge Liman had requested the attorneys to provide a written notice indicating the defendant’s intent to file a motion to dismiss the complaint.
The judge is expected to schedule a deadline date for them to submit the paperwork in the request, the outlet reported.
Lively and Reynolds’ publicist Leslie Sloane, who Baldoni also named in his lawsuit as a defendant, on Wednesday submit a similar statement to the court.
Dailymail.com has reached out to reps and attorneys for Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, and Baldoni, 41, for further comment on this story.
Blake Lively, 37, and Ryan Reynolds, 48, on Thursday asked a federal court to drop a lawsuit filed earlier this month by her It Ends with Us director Justin Baldoni, 41. Lively and Reynolds pictured at the NYC premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine in July
The legal request comes as the first hearing in a spate of lawsuits between the collaborators on the summer hit is set to commence next week. Baldoni pictured in NYC in August
The legal request comes as the first hearing in a spate of lawsuits between the collaborators on the summer hit is set to commence on Monday, February 3 with a pretrial conference.
The conference was pushed up from an initial date of February 12, according to Variety, ahead of a trial with a starting date of March 9, 2026 in the case.
Lawyers for both parties were in accordance with a plan to compound both federal cases filed into one moving forward, the outlet reported.
Lively and Reynolds’ legal team has been asking the court to sanction Baldoni lawyer Bryan Freedman with a ‘gag order’ regarding ‘extrajudicial statements’ he made.
Freedman this month has spoken about the case on shows hosted by Megyn Kelly and Chris Cuomo, as well as in the Hulu documentary IMPACT x Nightline: Blake vs. Justin.
Hudson, who is representing Lively and Reynolds, told the judge in a January 24 letter, ‘Requiring counsel to heed the ethical rules that bind them is not a gag order.’
Hudson said ‘it is a mechanism that would ensure the proceedings in this Court are are not prejudiced by counsel’s conduct outside of the courtroom.’
Freedman told Deadline Thursday that lawyers for Lively and Reynolds were looking to stall the proceedings.
Reynolds pictured in NYC on Thursday amid the legal ongoings
The A-list actor was seen autographing items for fans on the winter day
Baldoni has accused Reynolds of mocking him with a Deadpool character named Nicepool
‘All these motions to dismiss are just yet another attempt by Ms. Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Leslie Sloan to hide and delay the discovery of the hundreds of pages of true facts and well-documented information that we remain dedicated to providing publicly, with full transparency,’ Freedman told Deadline.
He added, ‘We expect such motions to be denied and, in the meantime, stand ready to oppose each and every one of them.’
Baldoni’s team on Thursday informed the judge that they had wanted to conduct a deposition with Lively immediately, but that the actress is resistant to speaking with Freedman, attributed to ‘unspecified statements made by’ the lawyer, Variety reported.
Baldoni attorney Kevin Fritz said that Lively – who appears to have rankled pal Taylor Swift amid her inadvertent peripheral involvement in the case – does ‘not have the right’ to dictate who she speaks to amid the legal process.
Fritz said, ‘We are unaware of any situation that would warrant the deposed party to have a choice in which attorney takes her deposition.
‘Parties to litigation simply do not have the right to dictate which of their opponents’ attorneys may or may not take their deposition or perform any other aspect of the opposing party’s case.’
Fritz said he is focused on flagging the issue to the court in Monday’s hearing.
Lively last month sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture, which was a hit when it arrived in theaters in August.
Lively and Reynolds asked the court to sanction Baldoni lawyer Bryan Freedman (pictured) with a ‘gag order’ regarding ‘extrajudicial statements’ he made in different media appearances
Lively last month sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture, which was a hit when it arrived in theaters in August.
Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – during production of It Ends with Us. Pictured in January 2024 in NYC on the set of the film
In Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways – including body shaming her – and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
Baldoni has denied all of the claims against him in Lively’s legal filing.
He and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
Lively – who is mother to four kids with the Deadpool star Reynolds – filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni’s collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio’s CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences
The motion picture earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally
‘I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,’ Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.
Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled ‘”We Can Bury Anyone”: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.’
Attorneys for Baldoni in mid-January distributed letters demanding various entertainment industry figures safeguard evidence linked to claims that Reynolds wrote a character named Nicepool into the Deadpool 2 film, intended to parody and humiliate Baldoni.
Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him.
Since Lively’s complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being dropped by the agency WME, which also reps Lively and Reynolds.
WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences.
The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
