Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s bitter legal fight is not over yet.
The It Ends With Us co-stars are reportedly heading back to court as Lively seeks damages from Baldoni, despite their wider case previously being settled.
The actress is demanding that Baldoni pay her legal fees, costs, triple damages and punitive damages after his $400million defamation lawsuit against her was thrown out.
The exact amount Lively is seeking remains unclear, but reports claim both sides have already spent around $60million on lawyers during the high-profile dispute.
Lively previously sued Baldoni, who directed and starred alongside her in It Ends With Us, accusing him of sexual harassment and of launching a smear campaign against her. Baldoni denied the allegations and later filed his own massive defamation claim against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times.
Most of Lively’s case was later dismissed, including the sexual harassment claims, before both sides reached a settlement with no money exchanged.
Now, Lively’s lawyers argue that Baldoni’s failed defamation lawsuit should trigger penalties under a California law designed to protect people who speak out about alleged sexual misconduct from retaliatory legal action.
However, some First Amendment experts have raised concerns that the law could make people afraid to defend their reputations in court if they believe they have been falsely accused.
Neither Lively nor Baldoni is expected to attend the Manhattan hearing in person.
