Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have both rejected the latest effort to settle their legal war after meeting with a judge in New York on Monday.

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.

Legal battle narrows to three key claims ahead of trial

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.

Court sides with Baldoni on majority of allegations

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.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawyers called in for settlement talks 

Lawyers for both Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been unexpectedly called to discuss their latest openness to settling their case, just one day after a judge tossed Lively’s accusations of sexual harassment on the set of the movie it Ends With Us.

The attorneys in the long-running case have been told to call US Magistrate Judge Sarah Cave on Monday in separate sessions.

It comes a day after Lively's case was stripped to its bones.

The public will not be allowed to hear what is said on the two calls on Monday. 

The first is with Lively’s lawyers at 3pm and those for Baldoni and his company Wayfarer Productions are to be held one hour later.

Both sides have been told they should address ‘their client's updated settlement position’.

Lively’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb insisted that doesn’t mean it is all over. He said the actress is looking forward to the trial scheduled for next month.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Gottlieb said the jury will still hear her claims about sexual harassment, which he called ’the beating heart' of the case.

'The court’s ruling that Ms. Lively’s state and federal harassment claims could not go to trial was about legal issues rather than an endorsement of the defendants’ conduct,’ said Gottlieb. 

'The court held that Ms. Lively’s sexual harassment claims could not go to a jury because Ms. Lively did not sign a contract, that she is an independent contractor instead of an employee, and that the offensive conduct occurred in New Jersey instead of California.'

Originally, the 39-year-old actress sued Baldoni and some of shareholders in their joint film, It Ends With Us, claiming she was subjected to sexual harassment and a toxic work environment. 

On Thursday, Judge Liman tossed all of the most damning claims, stripping her case down to just three counts; breach of contract, retaliation and aiding and abetting retaliation. 

They had been due to go to trial in New York on May 18. 

The messy feud boils down to Baldoni's alleged harassment of Lively on set, and what she claimed was a smear campaign orchestrated by him and his team in the aftermath of the disastrous production.  

In an explosive lawsuit filed in California in December 2024, Lively alleged that they'd fat-shamed her and forced her into uncomfortable scenes. 

The lawsuit was quickly reported on by The New York Times, which accused Baldoni and his colleagues of orchestrating a smear campaign against Lively. 

Baldoni immediately denied the allegations. He then sued The New York Times, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. 

Both cases were thrown out and Lively's outstanding complaints were consolidated into one case, to be argued in New York in May. 

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