A federal judge has dismissed Hollywood actress Blake Lively’s claims of emotional distress in the Justin Baldoni case, ruling in favour of Baldoni, the director and producer of the 2024 film It Ends With Us.

The decision, which may shape the course of the case, comes ahead of a trial scheduled for March 2026.

Judge Lewis Liman, who is presiding over the case, ruled that Lively’s claims of emotional distress would be thrown out, according to a report by Variety on Tuesday.

The lawsuit stems from a complaint Lively filed in December 2024 following the release of It Ends With Us, a romantic drama based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover.

In the complaint, Lively accused Baldoni— who also served as a producer on the film —of sexual harassment and launching a public smear campaign against her.

As part of their defence, Baldoni’s legal team sought access to Lively’s medical records, including therapy notes, arguing they were necessary to refute her claims of experiencing “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration and mental anguish”, according to Variety. Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, dismissed the request as “utterly pointless”.

Lively has now dropped her claims of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. However, Variety reported that she has only agreed to withdraw the claims “without prejudice”, meaning she reserves the right to refile them in the future, contrary to Baldoni’s legal team's request for a dismissal “with prejudice”, which would prevent her from bringing the claims again.

Judge Liman denied Baldoni’s motion to compel access to the documents, noting that the plaintiff had agreed to withdraw the relevant claims. However, he added that the parties must formally decide whether the dismissal is “with or without prejudice”.

“The parties shall stipulate to whether the dismissal is with or without prejudice, or Lively shall renew her request by formal motion. For avoidance of doubt, if the claims are not dismissed, the Court will preclude Lively from offering any evidence of emotional distress,” he ruled.

The legal battle between Lively and Baldoni first came to light in December 2024, when Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her during the production of It Ends With Us. She also claimed Baldoni and his team later orchestrated a targeted campaign to damage her public image.

In response, Baldoni filed a USD 400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and their PR team, alleging defamation, extortion, and invasion of privacy.

Lively’s representatives denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit a “tactic to shift the narrative”.

Despite the controversy, It Ends With Us was a commercial success, grossing USD 350 million globally. Lively and Baldoni starred as a couple in the film, which addresses the crucial issue of domestic violence.