Blake Lively's attorneys issued a statement after Judge Lewis J. Liman's decision to toss out Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against her "Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication," Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb said in their statement about the decision on June 9 Lawyers for Baldoni previously slammed Lively's motion to dismiss the lawsuit back in March Blake Lively's lawyers are claiming "victory" after a judge's decision to toss outJustin Baldoni's $400 million countersuit against her. In a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Monday, June 9, the actress's attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb said, "Today's opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, includingRyan Reynolds,Leslie SloaneandThe New York Times." "As we have said from day one, this '$400 million' lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it," they added. "We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys' fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, [Steve] Sarowitz, [Melissa] Nathan and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation." Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the motions to dismiss on Monday, tossing out the$400 million lawsuit filed by Baldoni, 41, and the Wayfarer Parties against Lively, 37, and husband Reynolds, which alleged extortion and defamation, plus Baldoni's $250 million defamationlawsuit against theTimes. Taylor Hill/FilmMagic; John Nacion/Variety via Getty Attorneys for Baldoni did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. The judge noted in his filing on June 9 that Baldoni's legal team can still amend the claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract if they choose to move forward, with a deadline of June 23. "The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her CRD complaint, which are privileged," Judge Liman wrote in the opinion and order filing. "The Wayfarer Parties have alleged that Reynolds and Sloane made additional statements accusing Baldoni of sexual misconduct and that theTimesmade additional statements accusing the Wayfarer Parties of engaging in a smear campaign. But the Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Reynolds, Sloane or theTimeswould have seriously doubted these statements were true based on the information available to them, as is required for them to be liable for defamation under applicable law." James Devaney/GC Images; Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty He added, "The Wayfarer Parties' additional claims also fail. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety." Lively first sued herIt Ends With Usdirector-costar Baldoni plus others in December 2024,alleging sexual harassment and retaliation, which he has denied. The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! Monica Schipper/Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Baldoni had also sued theTimesfor $250 million in December, accusing the newspaper of using "'cherry-picked' and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead" in its December article, "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine." TheTimesstood by its reporting. Judge Liman's decision to toss Baldoni's countersuit comes amid recent developments in his legal battle with Lively that have included a journalist clarifying thatSloane never claimed Baldoni "sexually assaulted" Lively, as well as the actressagreeing to withdraw two of her claims, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Read the original article onPeople
