Justin Baldoni has filed a response to Blake Lively’s request to dismiss his defamation lawsuit.
Baldoni filed the lawsuit in January after Lively accused him of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign during the filming of It Ends With Us.
Lively’s lawyers filed the request to dismiss the lawsuit in March, claiming Baldoni’s allegations were “vengeful” and an abuse of the legal system. They also pointed to a California law that protects people from retaliatory lawsuits related to sexual harassment claims.
Now, in response Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, argued that the lawsuit provides detailed claims of “Lively’s calculated efforts first to extort and manipulate” as reported by People Magazine.
Revealing that they “will continue to fight”, Freedman also stated that even if the lawsuit is dismissed, Lively should not be entitled to any legal fees or damages.
He stated, “What Ms. Lively is attempting to do is to set a dangerous precedent by barring the courthouse doors to my clients and punishing them for having their day in court, a right protected by the First Amendment.”
“This right protects not only Mr. Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties in this particular case, but all Americans in the future who have false accusations levied against them and seek relief from our justice system.”
“This must stop here, and we will continue to fight against this blatant attempt to block access to the court system and to weaken our nation’s Constitution to serve those who are in the position of power,” Justin Baldoni’s lawyer added.
