Court ordered settlement talks in Blake Lively‘s sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Justin Baldoni have floundered, and the It Ends With Us co-stars are almost certainly going to trial.
Attempts to reach a deal have proven “unsuccessful,” Baldoni attorney Bryan Freedman said today.
Speaking outside Manhattan’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse as the first and maybe last day of a settlement conference between the parties concluded, a jury trial seemed to be back at the top of the agenda for the media savvy lawyer. To that, Freedman exclaimed he was “looking forward to it,” when asked Wednesday afternoon about the May 18 scheduled trial.
Freedman also said that while “there’s always a chance” of a settlement, the litigator pessimistically noted that he didn’t “know that we will” when it came to resuming talks on any pre-trial deal.
Both Lively and Wayfarer Studios co-founder Baldoni exited the courthouse around 1 pm PT after a closed door session with their respective legal teams in front of Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave. The two have been in the same room since the Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb represented Lively launched her action with a December 2024 filing with California’s Civil Rights department, but Wednesday is the first occasion they have been in court at the same time since the Another Simple Favor actress filed what is now a $550 million suit against her IEWU co-star and director and his inner circle.
Back on January 22, the lawyers argued for (Baldoni) and against (Lively) in front of Judge Lewis Liman over summary judgment in the high-profile and superstar riddled case. Likely awaiting the Hail Mary results of the settlement attempt that he ordered late last year, there has been no decision from Judge Liman on that summary judgment or any trimming of Lively’s claims.
The Wayfarer side has scheduled a session in court for Thursday over the adjacent case of Jonesworks PR boss Stephanie Jones. It is not clear if either Lively or Baldoni, who emerged from court with his entourage and a smile on his face today, will be or need to be in attendance.
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