Justin Baldoni's team plans to depose Blake Lively in the future, even after the judge dismissed their lawsuit 

Justin Baldoni is not backing down without a fight against Blake Lively.

The Jane the Virgin alum's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has released a statement revealing that he has filed the paperwork to depose Lively sometime this month. His revelation comes on the judge's decision to toss Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, Sloane, and the New York Times out.

As reported by Variety, in a statement shared on Tuesday, Freedman said:

“Ms. Lively and her team’s predictable declaration of victory is false, so let us be clear about the latest ruling. While the court dismissed the defamation related claims, the court has invited us to amend four out of the seven claims against Ms. Lively, which will showcase additional evidence and refined allegations. This case is about false accusations of sexual harassment and retaliation and a nonexistent smear campaign, which Ms. Lively’s own team conveniently describes as ‘untraceable’ because they cannot prove what never happened.”

Justin Baldoni's legal counsel was referencing Lively's public addressal of the judge's decision, where she reflected on the "shame" and distress she experienced as a result of the lawsuit.

Freedman’s statement continued,

“Most importantly, Ms. Lively’s own claims are no truer today than they were yesterday, and with the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle and look forward to her forthcoming deposition, which I will be taking. We are grateful for the organic show of support from the public and for the dedication of the Internet sleuth community who continue to cover the case with discernment and integrity.”

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Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal struggles rage on, explore the latest developments

As reported by Variety, Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Justin Baldoni's entire lawsuit on the grounds that Lively’s accusations of sexual harassment fell under the umbrella of legal protection, rendering them immune from a lawsuit. However, the judge gave Baldoni until later this month to make amends and refile certain allegations pertaining to interference with contracts.

The pair have been locked in legal struggles for months, stemming from when Lively accused her It Ends With Us director and co-star of sexually harassing her and deliberately tarnishing her image. The New York Times covered the claims at the time.

Not long after, Justin Baldoni shot back with a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Sloane, their publicist, and The New York Times for its reporting on the issue. He accused them of extortion, defamation, and more.

As reported by BBC, according to Judge Liman, Justin Baldoni's lawsuit boiled down to two claims: that his co-star "stole the film" from him and his company, Wayfarer, by threatening to not promote it, and that she and the other parties named perpetuated a harmful image about him.

However, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios have failed to sufficiently assert that Lively's threats were unlawful extortion as opposed to legally allowed hard bargaining or a renegotiation of working conditions, the judge said. Wayfarer Parties have not claimed that Lively is responsible for any statements other than the statements in her lawsuit, which are confidential, which in turn means that they have failed to back their defamation claims up.

As for the case against the New York Times, he said that the evidence does not indicate that the outlet "acted with actual malice" in reporting the story as he then tossed the $250 million suit. He wrote,

"The alleged facts indicate that the Times reviewed the available evidence and reported, perhaps in a dramatized manner, what it believed to have happened. The Times had no obvious motive to favor Lively's version of events."

Lively's lawyers, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, told Just Jared,

“Today’s opinion is a total victory and a complete vindication for Blake Lively, along with those that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit, including Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane and The New York Times. As we have said from day one, this “$400 million” lawsuit was a sham, and the Court saw right through it. We look forward to the next round, which is seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages against Baldoni, Sarowitz, Nathan, and the other Wayfarer Parties who perpetrated this abusive litigation.”

Variety has reported that on Tuesday, Lively's legal counsel also addressed Justin Baldoni's pledge to “march forward” with his case.

“No amount of spin, bluster, or creative accounting from Baldoni’s legal team will change the embarrassing reality staring them in the face: the plan to sue Blake Lively and her family into oblivion has been a complete and total failure,” they said in a statement.

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Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's trial is slated to kick off in March 2026.