Months after Justin Baldoni dropped his lawsuit against The New York Times, the publication has decided to sue the actor/director’s production company, Wayfarer, for all legal costs associated with the defamation case.
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In legal documents obtained by PEOPLE, The New York Times claimed the lawsuit against Wayfarer to recover costs, fees, and expenses incurred by the publication “in the defense of a defamation action brought by Wayfarer and parties associated” with the company.
Baldoni’s production company is named the sole defendant in The New York Times’ filing.
The publication further cited New York’s anti-SLAPP law. It stated it is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against plaintiffs who, like Wayfarer, commence or continue meritless legal claims for the purpose of “harassing, intimidating, punishing or otherwise maliciously inhibiting the free exercise of speech.”
The New York Times claimed in its documents that the costs were at least $150,000.
Justin Baldoni’s Attorney Responds to the Lawsuit
In a statement to PEOPLE, Justin Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, said he plans to fight The New York Times’ lawsuit.
“Win, lose, or draw, we refuse to cave to power brokers even in the face of seemingly impossible odds,” Freedman stated. “We continue to stand tall for a reason: the pursuit of truth, in the face of giants.”
He then shared, “Our unwillingness ot compromise our values, no matter the odds or the outcome, reflects a simple conviction that stands up for the truth and what is right matters. If the current laws protect legacy media in this manner, perhaps it’s up to us to ignite that change.”
Baldoni previously filed a $400 million countersuit against Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and The New York Times for defamation after Lively accused him of sexually harassing her on the It Ends With Us set.
Judge Liman, who dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit, revealed the reasoning behind his decision. He said the Wayfarer had not alleged Lively was responsible for any statements other than those in her CRD complaint. He called the statements “privileged.”
Judge Liman then said that while they accused Reynolds, Sloan, and The New York Times of defaming Baldoni, the parties did not allege that the trio would have seriously doubted the statements were true based on the information available to them.
Although they were allowed to refile the lawsuit, Baldoni’s attorneys decided not to pursue legal action.