Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s Trial May Be Moved Up, Judge Warns

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawyers appeared in their first court hearing on Monday, February 3.

Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 41, were not expected to attend the Monday earing. The pair — who have both filed lawsuits against each other — are set to go to trial on March 9, 2026, per documents obtained by NBC News. During Monday’s 90-minute session, federal judge Lewis J. Liman noted that the March 2026 trial date could be moved up if the complaints continue to be “litigated in the press,” Deadline reported.

Days before the hearing, Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, allegedly objected to being deposed by Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, per court documents obtained by Us Weekly. Since neither Lively nor Baldoni’s lawyers could agree on the matter, they requested the court to weigh in on Monday. “I don’t think you’re going to be the one who chooses who takes Ms. Lively’s deposition,” Judge Liman told Lively’s lawyers on Monday.

The judge also indicated that Baldoni’s lengthy timeline of events was likely to be stricken from the record. On Saturday, February 1, Baldoni released a website, thelawsuitinfo.com, which includes two PDF files titled “Amended Complaint” and “Timeline of Relevant Events” available to download.  However, on Monday, the judge stated, “You can’t just attach a factual narrative” to a complaint.

Lively’s team reacted to the first hearing, telling Us in a statement: “We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case. The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We will hold the defendants accountable, and we are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.”

Baldoni’s lawyers, meanwhile, told Us, “Our clients are devastated and want to move the case along as quickly as possible. We just couldn’t be more pleased with how the case was handled today, how it was managed. We’re going to move as quickly as we possibly can and prove our innocence, in a world where sometimes people judge you before they give you a chance. And we’re going to change that.”

Months after speculation swirled of a rift between the It Ends With Us costars, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating an unsafe work environment on the set of the pair’s film in a lawsuit filed in December 2024. He has denied all allegations.

Baldoni and other plaintiffs went on to sue The New York Times in December 2024, who broke the story. A spokesperson for The New York Times told Us at the time that the outlet is planning to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” In January 2025, Baldoni’s studio also filed a separate lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, 48, and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, seeking $400 million in damages.

Lively’s legal team reacted to the lawsuit, sharing, in part, “Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”

Amid the legal battle, Baldoni’s lawyer released 10 minutes of footage from the It Ends With Us set in an attempt to prove his side of the story. Lively’s team slammed Baldoni and his team for choosing to drop the footage publicly but also claimed it showed her in distress.

“Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort,” the statement concluded. “They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent.”

In response to Lively’s legal team and their claims regarding the footage, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman told Us, “When Mr. Baldoni exercises his right to publicly defend himself by putting forth actual facts and evidence, for Ms. Lively and team this instantly becomes morally and ethically wrong. Ms. Lively wants very different standards to apply to her but fortunately, truth and authenticity apply to everyone and can never be wrong.”

Lively and Reynolds went on to file a letter in court seeking a protective order against Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman. Days later, Baldoni’s attorney Kevin Fritz asked the judge to deny the gag order if it was formally requested.

Lively and Reynolds allegedly told a federal judge that they are seeking to dismiss Baldoni’s lawsuit. Us reached out to Baldoni’s rep for comment at the time.