Overview
- Both sides walked away from a judge’s settlement push during Monday phone conferences, leaving a Manhattan jury trial set for May 18.
- Judge Lewis J. Liman’s April 2 ruling tossed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, including sexual harassment and defamation, and let three proceed: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding‑and‑abetting retaliation.
- The opinion said a jury could find that Wayfarer‑linked actors intended and took steps to spread negative content about Lively, citing evidence of a coordinated plan and technical capacity to amplify it.
- Lively responded on Instagram that coverage is a “digital soap opera,” urged focus on technology‑driven abuse, and vowed to press on, while Baldoni’s lawyers said they were pleased the court dismissed all sexual harassment claims and those against individual defendants.
- Many dismissals turned on legal limits—Lively’s status as an independent contractor and California laws not covering conduct on a New Jersey set—setting up a test of how courts treat alleged PR‑driven smear campaigns and digital retaliation.