She says the paper never contacted her before publishing a story that tied her to a smear campaign against the actress.

But on June 9, Judge Lewis Liman threw out Baldoni's lawsuit, ruling that the statements at the center of the suits were either privileged or lacked the necessary legal basis for defamation — a legal victory for Lively, her team later said in a statement.

It doesn’t seem much like the languid dog days of summer for Justin Baldoni when it comes to the It Ends With Us director’s sprawling legal fracas with Blake Lively over her claims of sexual harassment on the Sony released flick and the alleged online smear campaign that followed last year.