Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni to Meet for Settlement Conference: Here's What Could Happen Elizabeth RosnerFebruary 11, 2026 at 3:09 AM 0 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Raymond Hall/GC Images; Bryan Bedder/Getty Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will meet in person with their lawyers for a courtordered settlement conference on Feb.
- - Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni to Meet for Settlement Conference: Here's What Could Happen
Elizabeth RosnerFebruary 11, 2026 at 3:09 AM
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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni
Raymond Hall/GC Images; Bryan Bedder/Getty
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will meet in person with their lawyers for a court-ordered settlement conference on Feb. 11 in New York
A legal expert tells PEOPLE that everything said during the meeting is confidential
A trial is currently scheduled for May 18
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, along with their attorneys, are set to meet for a court-ordered settlement conference on Wednesday, Feb. 11, in New York City as part of their ongoing legal dispute connected to It Ends With Us.
The conference will be held at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and overseen by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave.
Settlement conferences are standard in federal civil litigation and are intended to determine whether a case can be resolved without going to trial. Judge Liman, who is presiding over the case, has not yet ruled on Baldoni's pending summary judgment motion.
The dispute dates back to December 2024, when Lively, 38, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, 42, who directed and starred in the film, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. The director has denied the allegations and later filed a $400 million countersuit, which has since been dismissed.
Lively has alleged she lost $161 million as a result of what she describes as a retaliatory smear campaign. A trial is currently scheduled for May 18.
Ahead of the conference, PEOPLE spoke with legal expert Gregory Doll, a partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles, to explain what typically happens during a settlement conference and what the possible outcomes could be. Doll is not representing either party.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of "It Ends with Us" on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Who is typically required to attend, and in what capacity?
GREGORY DOLL: The Magistrate stated that the presence of each party — meaning each person or company named in the complaint — is "essential to the settlement process." Insurance companies are not considered parties, and therefore not required to attend, but insurance companies often insist on being involved in settlement conferences because when it is their money at stake.
Is the conference conducted in person or remotely, and how long does it usually last?
DOLL: This settlement conference will be conducted in person. I expect it to last a full day. I have been involved in a settlement conference that lasted three days, so there is no limitation to how long they will last. If the Magistrate believes that settlement is possible, but the parties cannot get there in a single day, she could keep them late into the evening or bring them back for multiple days. Most judges, however, prefer not to keep the parties late into the evening because it requires the presence of additional court personnel to do so. That said, in this case, if the Magistrate thinks the parties are close to a deal, she's not going to send them home until she gets their signatures on a settlement agreement.
Are discussions during the settlement conference confidential or protected from disclosure?
DOLL: All statements are 100% confidential and cannot be used at trial.
What role does the judge or mediator play during the conference?
DOLL: The Magistrate will do her best to convince both parties to settle. The Magistrate will point out the obvious facts to both parties: the trial is going to cost a lot of money; there could be appeals; and neither side is guaranteed a victory. The Magistrate will also do breakout sessions with each of the sides individually, where she will hammer on the weaknesses of their cases. Her goal will be to make both sides recognize that there is a good chance they might lose at trial, so they make a settlement deal. In this case, I'm sure the Magistrate will point out that the public relations aspects of this case will be affecting their careers for years to come. Those issues will be amplified during trial. If they reach a settlement, the public is going to forget about this event a lot sooner.
Does participation signal anything about the strength of either side's case?
DOLL: These types of settlement conferences are court-ordered, so we're not able to infer anything about the strength of either side's case based on their participation.
Blake Lively on Nov. 30, 2023 in London, England; Justin Baldoni on Dec. 4, 2024 in Los Angeles, Calif
Kevin Mazur/WireImage; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty
What are the possible outcomes if no settlement is reached?
DOLL: The next step in the case is that Judge Liman will issue his summary judgment order, which he is no doubt holding in abeyance until after the settlement conference to increase the chance of settlement based on the parties' uncertainty about how he intends to rule. Unless Judge Liman disposes of Lively's case on summary judgment, the next step will be pre-trial motions and trial.
Can the court impose any consequences if the parties fail to negotiate in good faith?
DOLL: In a court-ordered settlement conference like this, the Magistrate could issue a wide range of sanctions if she believes that one of the parties is not participating in good faith. I have seen parties show up at private mediation sessions and not negotiate in good faith, but I have never seen that happen in a federal court settlement conference. It would be a very bad idea to approach this settlement conference in bad faith, particularly knowing that Judge Liman will be paying close attention to the result, and if the Magistrate were to issue a sanctions order saying that one side acted in bad faith, he will be the first to know about it.
How common is it for cases like this to resolve at this stage?
DOLL: It is very common for cases to resolve at this stage. Magistrates pride themselves in settling cases, and by this point in time, the parties are often getting apprehensive about the trial, tired of paying legal bills, and want to make a deal.
Does the scheduling of a settlement conference affect the current litigation timeline or trial date?
DOLL: The conference could affect the trial date only if the parties seem like they want to make a deal but need more time to negotiate. If that's the case, Judge Liman has the option to continue the trial to accommodate further settlement activities.
Do you expect a settlement at this point? More than 90 percent of civil cases settle.
DOLL: I recently read the summary judgment papers in this case. Based on those documents, I'm convinced that Lively's case is seriously flawed — particularly her sexual harassment claims. Do I think the case will settle? Most likely. If it doesn't settle tomorrow, I suspect there will be a summary judgment order that carves up a substantial portion of Lively's case, and the case will settle after that. So we may see a few more twists and turns before the case settles, but I don't think either side wants to do the sequel to Depp v. Heard.
Given how contentious this is, what would it take for the parties to settle?
DOLL: I think it is going to have to involve the payment of some amount of money to Lively, perhaps by Wayfarer's insurance company. I think it is unlikely that the parties are going to do a walk away deal where neither side pays money. I think there will be a cash component coupled with some kind of press release and a limitation on what the parties can say about each other in the future.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 11, 2026 at 12:00AM on Source: MARIO MAG
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