Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have informed a federal judge they intend to seek the dismissal of a $400 million defamation lawsuit filed against them by Justin Baldoni. The move escalates the ongoing legal dispute between Lively and Baldoni, which began after the actress accused her It Ends With Us director of sexual harassment, triggering a countersuit from Baldoni.

Lively and Reynolds submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, stating their intent to file a motion to dismiss. The filing was in response to Liman's directive requiring each defendant to indicate in a single sentence whether they planned to seek dismissal.

Their co-defendant, publicist Leslie Sloane, filed a similar notice earlier in the week. The motion itself has yet to be formally filed, but the notice signals the couple's next legal maneuver as the case moves forward.

Lawsuit Stems from On-Set Allegations and Retaliation Claims

The dispute between Lively and Baldoni traces back to December 2024, when Lively sued Baldoni, It Ends With Us lead producer Jamey Heath, Wayfarer Studios, and others, alleging she was sexually harassed on set and subjected to a retaliatory smear campaign. Baldoni has denied the allegations, calling them "false, outrageous and intentionally salacious."

Following Lively's complaint, Baldoni countersued her, Reynolds, Sloane, and Sloane's PR firm Vision PR, Inc., alleging defamation and extortion. His legal team claims Lively and Reynolds conspired to "destroy" his reputation and career after "hijacking" the film.

Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, argued that his client's lawsuit is backed by "an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence," stating that Lively's case is "a battle [Lively] will not win and will certainly regret." Lively's attorneys dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit as "meritless" and "desperate," asserting that "the strategy of attacking the woman does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively's complaint, and it will fail."

Pre-Trial Conference to Address Gag Order Request

As the legal battle continues, a pre-trial conference originally scheduled for February 12 has been moved up to February 3. Lively's legal team has sought a gag order, accusing Baldoni's attorney of making statements to the media that could prejudice potential jurors.

"Federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct," Lively's attorneys wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. "His conduct threatens to, and will, materially prejudice both the Lively Case and the Wayfarer Case by tainting the jury pool."

Baldoni Pushes Forward with Deposition Plans

Baldoni's legal team is working to depose Lively as soon as possible, but the actress has allegedly refused to allow Freedman to lead the questioning.

"We are unaware of any situation that would warrant the deposed party to have a choice in which attorney takes her deposition," Baldoni's attorney, Kevin Fritz, wrote in a letter. "Parties to litigation simply do not have the right to dictate which of their opponents' attorneys may or may not take their deposition or perform any other aspect of the opposing party's case."

Film's Troubled Production at the Heart of Legal Dispute

The fallout stems from the troubled production of It Ends With Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel. Lively alleged that Baldoni and Heath engaged in inappropriate discussions on set, which led to a company-wide meeting addressing her concerns. Among the alleged infractions were showing explicit images, discussions about pornography addiction, off-script additions of sex scenes, and comments about Lively's weight and late father.

Baldoni has denied these allegations, arguing in his own lawsuit that Lively took control of the film's production and later fabricated claims to rehabilitate her reputation after backlash over the film's marketing and production choices.

In addition to suing Lively, Baldoni has filed a separate $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of defamation over its coverage of Lively's allegations.

Both lawsuits-Lively v. Wayfarer Studios et al. and Baldoni v. Lively et al.-are set for trial on March 9, 2026. Until then, legal motions and pre-trial hearings are expected to continue shaping the high-profile case.