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Blake Lively's legal team has cited the 2023 Assembly Bill 933 in their motion to dismiss Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The motion was filed in a New York federal court on Thursday, March 20, 2025, marking the latest developments in the Lively-Baldoni legal battle.
In their motion to dismiss, Blake Lively's lawyers stated that California law offers protection to survivors of s*xual assault, which Lively has accused Baldoni of. Therefore, they requested the judge to dismiss all of Baldoni's counter allegations against his co-star in his lawsuit accusing the Lively-Reynolds party of extortion and defamation, among other charges. The motion stated:
"The Court should dismiss all claims against Ms. Lively with prejudice, deny leave to amend, and award Ms. Lively all relief sought. The law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits, like this one, to retaliate against individuals who have filed legal claims or have publicly spoken out about s*xual harassment and retaliation."
Lively's motion to dismiss refers to Assembly Bill 933, which was officially signed and brought into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom on October 10, 2023. The bill "expands the definition of privileged communication" to include any communication made without malice by survivors of sexual assault or harassment.
These privileged communications are protected from defamation lawsuits even if the statements have the ability to destroy the defendant's reputation. Assembly Bill 933 is designed to allow s*xual assault victims to take legal action against their alleged perpetrators without fear of having defamation lawsuits against them.
Newsom had signed the bill during the wave of the #MeToo movement, which saw a number of defamation lawsuits filed against women who spoke about their alleged experiences of s*xual harassment.
In the context of this case, Blake Lively's team claims that Justin Baldoni's counter-lawsuit against the actress should be dismissed as California law prohibits alleged perpetrators from filing defamation lawsuits against alleged s*xual assault survivors.
It is worth noting that Lively's motion to dismiss Baldoni's lawsuit came two days after her husband, Ryan Reynolds, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him. The New York Times and publicist Leslie Sloane have also filed similar motions to dismiss the suit.
Blake Lively's lawyers call Justin Baldoni's lawsuit "meritless and retaliatory" in their motion to dismiss the case
In their motion to dismiss, Blake Lively's legal team called Justin Baldoni's lawsuit "meritless and retaliatory" in response to the actress's alleged s*xual assault allegations against her co-star. The motion called the lawsuit a "blunt public relations instrument" used to further implement the "sinister campaign" by Wayfarer Studios. They indicated that the lawsuit was a measure to "bury" and "destroy" Blake Lively for speaking up against the alleged s*xual harassment she faced on the sets of It Ends With Us.
Lawyers Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson further argued that, as per Assembly Bill 933, Justin Baldoni must pay for the fees for Lively's attorneys and other damages.
"The Court should dismiss the FAC and—as required by California law—hold further proceedings to calculate an appropriate award of Ms. Lively’s attorneys’ fees, treble damages for the harm this meritless lawsuit has inflicted on her, and punitive damages against each of the Wayfarer Parties," the motion stated.
In a statement given to Deadline, Blake Lively's lawyers reiterated that the California law "expressly prohibits suing victims who make the decision to speak out against s*xual harassment or retaliation."
"This meritless and retaliatory lawsuit runs head first into three legal obstacles, including the litigation, fair report, and s*xual harassment privileges, the latter of which contains a mandatory fee shifting provision that will require the likes of billionaire Steve Sarowitz, Wayfarer Studios, and others that brought frivolous defamation claims against Ms. Lively to pay damages," the lawyers said.
Further, the lawyers claimed that Justin Baldoni's company Wayfarer Studios' attempt to sue Blake Lively created "more liability" for them.
The legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively began when the actress sued her co-star for alleged s*xual harassment and inappropriate workplace conduct and accused him of allegedly running a campaign to defame her reputation.
In response, Justin Baldoni denied all her allegations and filed a $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane. All the defendants have filed motions for the lawsuit against them to be dismissed.
Among other latest developments, Judge Lewis J. Liman granted a protective order to Blake Lively for protecting sensitive information concerning her s*xual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. Liman described the order as "an appropriately tailored confidentiality order" that applies to both Baldoni's and Lively's parties and any other third party involved in the case.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are set to face each other in court on March 9, 2026.
