U.S. court has dismissed the $400 million defamation lawsuit filed by actor and filmmaker Justin Baldoni against Hollywood couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
Baldoni initiated the case in January, accusing Reynolds and Lively of damaging his career by allegedly “stealing” his film project It Ends With Us. The court, however, found insufficient grounds to proceed with the claim.
Attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, representing the couple, welcomed the decision, calling it a “victory” and praising the court for recognizing the truth. “The court saw the facts clearly and understood who was telling the truth,” the lawyers said in a joint statement.
In a related development, the court also dismissed a separate $250 million libel lawsuit Baldoni filed against The New York Times.
These legal battles follow a civil rights lawsuit filed last December by an unnamed actress, who accused Baldoni of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior on the set of the same film.
As of this writing, Baldoni has not issued a public statement regarding the court’s rulings.
