Blake Lively is celebrating what her team is calling a “total victory” after actor and director Justin Baldoni decided not to amend and refile his $400 million countersuit against the actress and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The high-profile case which has been hitting the headlines over the past months, took an unexpected turn when Baldoni’s legal team confirmed he would not be amending or refiling his claims after a judge dismissed his countersuit early this month. In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Baldoni’s attorney, Freedman, stated, “The Court’s decision on the motion to dismiss has no effect whatsoever on the truth that there was no harassment nor any smear campaign… Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations.”Baldoni had until Monday, June 23, to amend his claims for breach of implied covenant and tortious interference with contract, his attorney Bryan Freedman said, “Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us.”Lively’s legal team has now responded sharply to the developments, with reps telling Just Jared, “Baldoni’s lawyer said the judge’s decision to dismiss their case was not a big deal as they promised to amend and refile it. As per usual, that was not true. The Court’s dismissal of Baldoni’s sham lawsuit was a total victory after all.”Though the countersuit has been dropped, Lively’s original lawsuit remains active. According to the latest reports on the case, Baldoni’s legal team is now seeking access to Lively’s private conversations with Taylor Swift, which was recently granted by Judge Liman as they deemed it important to the lawsuit. The saga continues to unfold as both sides prepare for further proceedings in what has become one of the most talked-about legal dramas in Hollywood.
