By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed most of Blake Lively's claims in her lawsuit accusing Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment in connection with the filming of their 2024 romantic drama "It Ends With Us."
The decision was issued by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan.
It followed more than a year of acrimonious litigation over the movie, in which Lively and Baldoni co-starred and which Baldoni directed.
Lawyers for Lively and Baldoni did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
Liman dismissed Lively's sexual harassment claims against Baldoni and other defendants on jurisdictional grounds, saying she had sued under a California law but the alleged wrongful conduct took place elsewhere.
The judge said Lively may pursue a retaliation claim against Baldoni's production company Wayfarer Studios, as well as a contract claim and an aiding and abetting claim against various defendants.
Lively's case has been closely followed in Hollywood. It has drawn in famous people like singer Taylor Swift, model Gigi Hadid and actor Hugh Jackman, all of whom according to Lively might have information supporting her claims.
In December, Liman set a May 18 trial date, pending his decision on whether to let Lively's case go forward.
Lively, 38, sued Baldoni, Wayfarer and others in December 2024, seeking unspecified damages for alleged harassment, defamation, invasion of privacy and violations of federal and state civil rights laws.
She complained that the defendants created a sexually charged atmosphere during the movie's production, and then schemed to silence her and others from speaking out about the hostile environment they created.
Baldoni, 42, countered that he resolved Lively's concerns as soon as she raised them, and that he was entitled to hire a crisis management firm after Lively began disparaging him publicly.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Luc Cohen in New York, Editing by Franklin Paul)
