Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have both rejected the latest effort to settle their legal war after meeting with a judge in New York.
Both sides declined to end the bitter case, which is about alleged sexual harassment and retaliation by Baldoni on the set of It Ends With Us, the film he co-starred in with Lively.
The Daily Mail understands that no agreement has been reached in the behind closed doors hearings – but more talks could take place soon.
Lawyers for Lively and Baldoni have been contacted for comment.
The hearings took place three days after Judge Lewis Liman, who is presiding over the case, dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including all of her sexual harassment allegations.
The case is due to go to trial on May 18, but only on three counts related to an alleged ‘smear campaign’ by Baldoni’s PR team.
The meetings on Monday were described by Judge Liman as a chance for both sides to tell the court about their ‘updated settlement position.’
At the federal court in New York, Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave held back-to-back remote phone conferences with lawyers for the two sides on Monday, with Lively going first.
Baldoni’s spokespeople did not provide a statement.
Lively claimed in her lawsuit, which was filed in December 2024, that she suffered at least $161 million in damages after Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set and then launched an online ‘smear campaign’ against her.
Baldoni had also filed his own lawsuit, a $400 million defamation case against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, as well as the New York Times.
The judge had earlier dismissed his case entirely.
In his ruling dismissing most of Lively’s claims, Judge Liman disagreed that Baldoni crossed the boundaries during filming of a dance scene when he added unscripted kisses.
In the film Lively played florist Lily Bloom who gets into an abusive relationship with Baldoni, who played neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid.
In his ruling, Judge Liman wrote: ‘Creative artists, no less than comedy room writers, must have some amount of space to experiment within the bounds of an agreed script without fear of being held liable for sexual harassment’.
Nor did Baldoni ‘fat shame’ Lively when he asked her personal trainer about her weight, the judge said.
‘The physical appearance of the protagonists was part of the product that the producers were intending to offer the audience’, the judge wrote.
‘Lively herself recognized that achieving a ‘certain aesthetic’ was ‘part of the job that we both excitedly signed up for’.
Many of Lively’s claims were dismissed because she did not sign a legal document, known as the Actor Loanout Agreement, which would have governed sexual harassment.
In addition, Lively had so much control over the film that she did not qualify as an employee so could not sue under the laws she cited, the judge found.
But in a win for Lively, Judge Liman did find that there was enough evidence of a retaliation campaign for a jury to decide whether it took place.
The remaining claims that will go to trial are: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting retaliation, all of which Baldoni denies.
In a statement after the judge’s decision last week, Baldoni’s lawyers Alexandra Shapiro and Jonathan Bach said they were ‘very pleased’ with the ruling.
Sigrid McCawley, a member of Lively’s legal team, told the Daily Mail, ‘This case has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy Blake Lively’s reputation because she stood up for safety on the set and that is the case that is going to trial’.
Lively ‘looks forward to testifying at trial’, McCawley added.
