Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni Legal Battle Date Set in New York Federal Court

The opposing lawsuits between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni won’t go hot until early next year, but the “It Ends With Us” co-stars’ respective legal teams will meet in court very soon, as the federal judge plans to hear arguments around a gag order request as early as next week.

Both cases in Lively v. Wayfarer Studios were consolidated Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where the trial was also scheduled to begin March 9, 2026. Additionally, a scheduled Feb. 12 preliminary hearing to consider Lively’s request for a gag order was moved up Monday, to Feb. 3.

Lively’s breach-of-contract lawsuit, which also names Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios production company and his PR team, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, was filed New Year’s Eve within hours of Baldoni and his team suing The New York Times for $250 million over its “defamatory” reporting on Lively’s Dec. 20 sexual harassment complaint.

Lively’s lawsuit alleges sexual harassment and a smear campaign launched in retaliation to speaking out about misconduct. Baldoni countersued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist Leslie Sloane, accusing them of defamation and extortion.

Legal representatives for Baldoni, Wayfarer and other co-defendants did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, an “unconscionable” smear campaign against her and breach of contract following a Jan. 4 meeting where the actor and co-plaintiffs agreed to cease “harassing behavior and other disturbing conduct.”

The suit details the meeting at length, which saw Reynolds attending as her representative, calling it an “all-hands” initiative “convened in New York to address the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the film.”

The suit further claims causes of retaliation, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, intentional and negligence infliction of emotional distress and false light invasion of privacy. Lively demands with Tuesday’s filing a jury trial and maintains she “is entitled to an award of punitive and exemplary damages in an amount to be proved at trial.”

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