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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Legal Battle Over It Ends With Us Likely to Continue Through 2026: Legal Expert
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal clash over It Ends With Us is expected to extend into 2026, with the discovery phase consuming much of the year, according to a legal expert.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle over their It Ends With Us feud doesn’t seem likely to end anytime soon.
A little more than a month has passed since the former initially filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, alleging the aforementioned summer hit’s director and actor sexually harassed her on set and then retaliated with a smear campaign after she spoke out.
Since then, Baldoni has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, which first published the actress’ allegations. Lively followed with a lawsuit against Baldoni, two of his colleagues at his production company Wayfarer, and his publicist. Baldoni responded with a suit of his own against Lively, claiming she was the one to smear him and that she plotted to take control of the film and its promotion. Baldoni’s suit also directly mentions her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist, Leslie Sloane.
As Baldoni and Lively’s legal teams prepare for a pretrial set for February 12, People spoke with a legal expert to seek answers to some burning questions.
In his conversation with the outlet, Gregory Doll, a lawyer and partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles, said he doesn't believe the two stars will take the matter to trial.
“Ninety-two percent of all civil cases settle, so odds are overwhelmingly that the case will settle,” he said. For people likening the Baldoni vs. Lively case with the Heard vs. Depp situation, Doll said the latter was the “rare exception.”
As for the upcoming February pretrial, the lawyer said the two parties don’t necessarily have to see each other; their lawyers can handle the business on their behalf.
Doll explained that if circumstances worsen and a trial looks likely, even then he doesn’t foresee a court hearing until 2026, as this whole year will be consumed with exchanging evidence and information related to the case, which is known as the discovery phase.
Moreover, the lawyer completely dismissed the idea of the legal battle unfolding on TV, like the Depp vs. Heard case, since Lively’s filing was in federal court, where broadcasting or even photography and recording are prohibited.
It Ends With Us, for those unversed, is based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel of the same name. There’s a sequel to the book, the rights to which are held by Baldoni. However, with all the legal turmoil surrounding the first film, it is unlikely the second book will be adapted into a movie or TV show.
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