Justin Baldoni Declines to Amend Claims After Blake Lively Lawsuit Dismissed

More than a week after his lawsuit against Blake Lively was dismissed, Justin Baldoni’s legal team is revealing his surprising next move.

Though the judge noted that Justin could amend his claims and resubmit the lawsuit, Baldoni is going in a different direction.

In a statement, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told People magazine, “The Court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign, and it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively’s claims.”

He added, “Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.”

Earlier this month, Baldoni’s team vowed that they would “march forward” after the judge granted a motion to dismiss his $400 million lawsuit against Lively.

Freedman told “Extra” in a statement, “Ms. Lively and her team’s predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling. While the Court dismissed the defamation related claims, the Court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations.

“This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively’s own team conveniently describes as ‘untraceable’ because they cannot prove what never happened,” Freedman continued.

“Most importantly, Ms. Lively’s own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday, and with the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking. We are grateful for the organic show of support from the public and for the dedication of the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity.”

After the judge’s decision, Blake’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb declared it a “total victory” in a statement to “Extra.” 

“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, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times,” the attorneys said. 

“As we have said from day one, this ‘$400 million’ lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”

Earlier this month, Lively withdrew emotional distress claims in her lawsuit against Baldoni.

In December, Lively filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni sexually harassed her on set.

Two months later, she also accused him of defamation.