Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Legal Battle Sees New Development

The civil trial between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has been delayed. The case, which was originally set to start on March 9, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, has been pushed back to May 18.

The information comes from court announcements made during a post-discovery hearing on Tuesday, December 9.

Judge Lewis J. Liman explained the postponement, saying he has two criminal trials scheduled and “as important as this case is … criminal trials take precedent.” The next hearing for the case is set for January 22, when oral arguments on summary judgments will take place.

The lawsuit, filed by Lively in December 2024, names Baldoni and others. Lively, 38, accused her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment and retaliation. She is seeking over $160 million in damages. Baldoni denies the allegations. His $400 million countersuit claiming extortion and defamation has been dismissed by the judge.

In a statement to TMZ in June, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said, “He knows who he is. He knows what he’s done; he knows what he hasn’t done. And he wants the truth to come out, and he wants to do that in the appropriate way. … He’s waiting for his day in court, where he can speak out to tell the truth.”

Lively also addressed the situation on Instagram in June, writing that she feels “more resolved than ever to continue to stand for every woman’s right to have a voice in protecting themselves, including their safety, their integrity, their dignity and their story.”

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