From left: Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath, Justin Baldoni, Steve Sarowitz and others at the It Ends With Us premiere in 2024 (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)
Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios co-founder and billionaire buddy Steve Sarowitz allegedly once swore “to spend up to $100 million to ruin” Blake Lively in her battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director oover what did or did not go down on the film.
Well, a lawsuit filed this week in California state court by the Paylocity founder, Baldoni and Wayfarer makes it look a lot more like Sarowitz actually meant he wanted to spend someone else’s money. Less than an year out from going to trial with Lively in NYC on her sexual harassment, defamation and retaliation action, the Wayfarer crew are now going after some of the biggest insurance companies in the world for denying them coverage to fight the Another Simple Favor star.
Baldoni, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Wayfarer itself and CEO Jamey Heath are trying to force New York Marine and General Insurance Company, QBE Insurance Corporation, some underwriters at Lloyd’s and others to pay out polices that they insist they deserve. or pay up.
The Insurers sold Wayfarer and IEWUM insurance policies promising to defend and indemnify the Insureds against, among other things, lawsuits alleging defamation. After the Insureds were sued by Blake Lively in a lawsuit alleging defamation and various other claims, the Insureds notified the Insurers and requested that the Insurers defend them and otherwise honor their duties under their policies. However, instead of doing so, the Insurers ignored their duty to defend while they purported to “investigate.” They then denied coverage, breaching their duties, refusing to honor of their duties to the Insureds. Therefore, the Insurers are liable for breach of contract and tortious bad faith, and are liable to their Insureds for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages.
Having seen Baldoni’s own $400 million suit against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, the superstar couple’s publicist, and the New York Times tossed out back in June, the Wayfarers themselves are also already facing a lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this month over another insurance policy.
Put in the docket on July 21, Harco National Insurance Company want a declaratory judgement against Wayfarer. With New York Maine and Lyod’s surely paying a lot of attention now, Harco are seeking a court judgement stating they don’t have to shell out a dime to “defend or indemnify” Baldoni and his Wayfarters. The company’s argument is pretty simple: In apparent violation of the polices that Wayfarer had with Harco, the production company did not inform the insurance company that “Lively and others complained of sexual harassment during pre-production and production of the Film.”
In this new battlefront with New York Marine and Lloyd’s, and maybe because of the Harco lawsuit, the besieged Baldoni gang seemed to take their time reacting to the insurance company’s cold shoulder – until they didn’t.
“On July 28, 2025, the Insureds’ counsel responded to New York Marine’s May 15, 2025, letter, explaining why New York Marine was wrong in denying coverage and asking New York Marine to withdraw its denial of coverage, to agree to defend the Insureds, and to pay for the attorneys’ fees and costs that the Insureds have incurred, and continue to incur, in defense of the Lively Lawsuit. New York Marine has not assumed its duty to defend,” the breach of contact action filed July 30 in LA Superior Court states.
It adds: “Wayfarer and IEWUM have been paying for the defense of Mssrs. Baldoni, Heath, and Sarowitz in the Lively lawsuit. They are entitled to be reimbursed for all such defense fees and costs they have paid.”
Reps for Baldoni and Wayfarer, as well as New York Marine’s parent company, did not respond Friday to request for comment on the latest lawsuit. Spokespeople for Lively and her legal team had no comment.
No actual sums are cited in the nine-claim LASC complaint, but having been brawling with Lively, Deadpool star Reynolds, the Old Grey Lady and a growing and contracting cast of other defendants since December 2024 in the courts, even the deep pocketed Sarowitz must be feeling the pinch. Or put another way, Bryan Freedman doesn’t come cheap.
In point of fact, the Hollywood litigator isn’t representing Team Wayfarer in this suit against New York Marine and others. McGuireWoods LLP are performing the heavy lifting and lawyering here. Heavy lifting and lawyering in a matter that will has a very good chance of still being in the West Coast court by the time Lively and Baldoni face off over the main case in Judge Lewis Liman’s East Coast courtroom on March 9, 2026.