Everyone
misses
a
deadline
now
and
then.
Usually,
it’s
something
like
“not
canceling
your
Hulu
account
before
the
automatic
renewal”
and
not
“blowing
the
drop
dead
date
on
your
$400
million
lawsuit.”
Docket
calendaring
software
is
out
there,
folks!
Despite
the
headlines
and
social
media
spin
out
there,
Justin
Baldoni
already
lost
his
lawsuit
alleging
a
wide-ranging
defamation
campaign
by
former
co-star
Blake
Lively,
Ryan
Reynolds,
and
the
New
York
Times.
It’s
all
part
of
a
messy
Hollywood
battle
kicked
off
when
Lively
initially
accused
Baldoni
of
sexual
harassment
during
production
of
It
Ends
With
Us
and
claimed
he
engaged
in
a
retaliatory
campaign
to
destroy
her
credibility.
Baldoni
responded
with
his
defamation
suit.
That’s
where
the
procedural
weeds
can
get
a
little
confusing
because
Baldoni’s
defamation
claim
got
consolidated
with
Lively’s
suit
against
Baldoni
back
in
January,
but
Judge
Lewis
Liman
tossed
Baldoni’s
claims
in
June.
Baldoni’s
lawyers
sought
leave
to
amend
—
which
was
granted
—
and
then
never
did
it.
Months
after
the
fact,
the
Times
asked
if
these
claims
were,
you
know,
still
a
whole
thing.
On
October
17,
Judge
Liman
clarified
that
he
didn’t
need
to
issue
a
separate
final
judgment
in
the
combined
case
to
commemorate
the
official
end
of
the
Baldoni
claims,
but
granted
Baldoni
a
week
to
show
cause
why
the
court
shouldn’t
go
ahead
and
issue
a
final
judgment.
October
24
came
and
went…
and
Baldoni’s
lawyers
didn’t
respond
at
all.
Lively’s
claims
carry
on,
but
as
far
as
Baldoni’s
case
is
concerned,
It
Ends
With
A
Deadline
Miss.
Judge
Liman
entered
judgment
this
morning,
though
the
operative
deadline
was
the
October
24
miss.
Which
means
they
can’t
even
blame
forgetting
to
set
their
clocks
for
the
weekend
daylight
saving
time
switch!
Not
that
Baldoni
has
much
to
say.
The
case
is
over
and
they
didn’t
bother
to
amend
it
when
they
had
the
chance.
But
you’ve
got
to
answer!
It’s
not
an
intractable
burden
to
drop
a
letter
with
the
court
explaining
that
you’re
reserving
all
your
rights
but
have
nothing
to
add
to
the
consideration
of
the
order
to
show
cause.
To
borrow
from
a
different
movie,
say
anything.
The
only
good
news
here
is
for
the
lawyers
watching
this
from
afar.
Multiple
legal
social
media
accounts
responded
to
headlines
about
Baldoni
losing
over
a
missed
deadline
by
describing
that
as
the
definition
of
their
own
personal
hell.
Thankfully,
it’s
not
nearly
that
bad.
This
wasn’t
a
random
oversight,
but
the
product
of
a
number
of
filing
decisions
(or
non-decisions
as
the
case
may
be)
in
response
to
a
judge
extending
off-ramps
for
months.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.