Justin Baldoni at the launch event for 'This Is How It Ends' Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Actor Justin Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, was ordered to pay more than US$170,000 to the "New York Times" after losing a case in which it accused the American newspaper of defamation. Actress Blake Lively and actor-director Justin Baldoni have reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed by Lively over the filming of the 2024 romantic drama "That's How It Ends," Baldoni's production company said Monday. The settlement avoids a civil trial scheduled for May, in which both actors were expected to testify about allegations of sexual misconduct made by Lively against Baldoni. The settlement ends more than a year of bitter legal fighting, which drew intense public attention as details of Lively's allegations and Baldoni's counter-allegations emerged in court documents. In early April, a judge dismissed 10 of the 13 charges in the actress' lawsuit. Among them were allegations of harassment, defamation and conspiracy. The remaining three — breach of contract, retaliation and complicity in retaliation — would proceed to trial, which is scheduled for May. The protagonist of the film about domestic violence, Lively accuses Baldoni of sexual harassment and making inappropriate comments about her appearance and weight during filming. She also claims that he hired a group of professionals to tarnish his reputation and undermine the credibility of his accusations. See the trending videos on g1 See the videos that are trending on g1 Baldoni — who played the abusive husband, in addition to directing and producing the film — says that the actress exaggerated the allegations to increase her power over the production. Over time, he also filed lawsuits against Lively and the New York Times, which published a report on the allegations. Both actions were rejected by the American courts. Despite the problems behind the scenes, "This Is How It Ends" was a huge box office success, grossing around US$350 million worldwide.