Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Blake Lively‘s claims against digital strategist Jed Wallace on a technicality. The judge stated that the actress’s attorneys failed to prove that Wallace, who is based in Austin, Texas, had enough connection to New York for him to be sued there.
Previously, Lively accused Wallace of being hired by Justin Baldoni‘s team to weaponize a digital army against her and to ruin her well-maintained reputation on platforms like Reddit (via PEOPLE).
These claims were dismissed by Judge Liman back in July as well; however, he did allow Team Lively to come back with an amended complaint and more details, which would help them establish their jurisdiction.
Now, as per the latest ruling, the new allegations against Wallace weren’t enough to meet New York’s “long-arm” statute that allows someone to sue defendants in different states. Defamation claims are excluded from this to protect free speech.
Wallace’s attorney, Chip Babcock, stated (via PEOPLE),
Mr. Wallace and Street Relations greatly appreciate the court’s two thorough and scholarly opinions — spanning 79 pages — dismissing them from the case. Although the court did not need to decide Mr. Wallace’s and Street’s motion to dismiss the merits of Ms. Lively’s claims, they are hopeful that she will decide that a refiling in a proper court would be futile.
The judge did say that Lively could go ahead and pursue Wallace in Texas, where he lives and works. Meanwhile, Wallace is pursuing his own defamation lawsuit against the actress.
Blake Lively’s Team Responds to the Judge’s Ruling
Despite getting her claims dismissed by the judge, Lively’s legal team is not letting it dampen their mood. A spokesperson for the It Ends with Us actress told PEOPLE that Lively is currently going through her “many options” when it comes to taking her claims to a different court.
They said,
The Court’s decision today was only about where Jed Wallace can be sued. The Court ruled that Ms. Lively’s claims against him can and should be brought in a different court. Ms. Lively is evaluating her many options for doing so.
Moreover, the spokesperson added that this setback has nothing to do with her actual case against Justin Baldoni and more. In their words, “This has no impact on her case against Baldoni, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, Abel, Wayfarer and The Agency Group, who she will see in court in New York at the March trial.”
On the other hand, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, expressed his gratitude for the ruling, stating that the allegations against Wallace have been unsupported. He also added that the other defendants are confidently waiting for the day they get to prove Lively wrong in court.
The Truth About Justin Baldoni’s Countersuit
Recently, there have been reports circulating on the Internet claiming that Judge Liman threw out Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit against Lively after he and his legal team failed to meet deadlines.
His case was first dismissed back in June, but his lawyers claimed that they would file an amended complaint. As per PEOPLE, Judge Liman officially ended the countersuit on October 31 after Team Baldoni failed to file a further amended complaint.
The media and netizens saw this as a win for Lively, but Freedman is setting the record straight: it was all deliberate. Sharing a statement to the outlet, the attorney said, “The truth regarding this case continuously and completely gets distorted in the media.“
He added that a simple “procedural update” has turned into a mischaracterization, before continuing, “At this point, we have to set the record straight: no deadlines were missed. Our clients chose not to amend their complaint to preserve appeal rights.“
As per Freedman’s statement, they are looking forward to their day in court as they continue to pursue “the truth through every legal and factual avenue available.”
Documents reveal that Lively was the only one to respond to Judge Liman’s October 17 warning that he would be entering final judgment. The actress asked him to declare a final judgment and keep her request for legal fees active. Judge Liman agreed.
Do you think the setback in Blake Lively’s fight against Wayfarer Studios and Baldoni will have a negative impact on the overall lawsuit? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
