Overview
- Judge Lewis J. Liman, who ruled Thursday, dismissed 10 of 13 claims, including sexual harassment, defamation, and conspiracy.
- The case now moves to a May 18 trial in Manhattan on breach of contract, retaliation, and complicity in retaliation.
- The judge wrote that Baldoni’s response to Lively’s accusations may have crossed a line into retaliation that a jury could consider.
- The court found Lively worked as an independent contractor, which blocked a federal harassment claim, and it declined to apply California law because the alleged conduct occurred in New Jersey.
- Earlier rulings also cut the wider legal fight, throwing out Baldoni’s $400 million counterclaim and his $250 million defamation suit against the New York Times.