Justin Baldoni has spoken out after Blake Lively suffered a significant setback in her ongoing legal battle against him.
The actress, 38, saw a large portion of her lawsuit dismissed this week after Judge Lewis Liman struck out 10 of the 13 claims she had brought forward – including her sexual harassment allegations and claims that she had been fat-shamed.
© AFP via Getty ImagesHowever, the case is not over. The judge ruled that several claims – including retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract – can still proceed to trial. In a statement, Justin's legal team, led by Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach, welcomed the decision.
"We're very pleased the Court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and every claim brought against the individual defendants," they told the Daily Mail, referring to Justin and others named in the suit. "These were very serious allegations, and we are grateful to the Court for its careful review of the facts, law and extensive evidence."
They added that the case is now "significantly narrowed" and confirmed they are preparing to defend the remaining claims in court.
© GettyThe lawsuit stems from alleged incidents during the filming of It Ends With Us, where Blake claimed Justin crossed professional boundaries. Among her allegations were that he improvised a kiss in a scene where it was not scripted, entered her trailer while she was breastfeeding, and that a producer showed her a video of his wife giving birth.
In his ruling the judge said: "The question whether Lively would have the unilateral right to halt production of the film if in her view sexual harassment occurred is hardly inconsequential. The fact that the parties were not able to come to terms on such provision provides powerful evidence that no contract had yet been formed."
© GC ImagesHe then went on to say in his ruling of the claims that: "The court disagrees. Considering Lively's evidence both in isolation and as a whole, it fails to raise a genuine issue of material fact concerning formation of the ALA".
"Ultimately, Lively fails to confront what is the central dilemma in her claim. She contends that the ALA became binding on IEWUM at some point while the parties were still negotiating it, but she cannot pinpoint a time when the parties began to be bound by it or which version of the ALA they were bound to."
© GC Images"This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively's reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial," Sigrid McCawley, a member of Blake's legal team, said in a statement.
"The greatest measure of justice is that the people and the playbook behind these coordinated digital attacks have been exposed and are already being held accountable by other women they've targeted," she added.
The trial is currently scheduled to begin on May 18 in New York City – though with far fewer claims on the table, the legal battle ahead looks notably different.
