By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, March 20 (Reuters) - Actress Blake Lively on Thursday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss actor Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit, calling it a "vengeful and rambling" case that does not belong in federal court.

In a filing in Manhattan federal court, Lively said "the law prohibits weaponizing defamation lawsuits" such as Baldoni's to retaliate against people who have spoken out publicly and in court about sexual harassment and retaliation.

She is also seeking unspecified triple and punitive damages for the reputational and emotional harm that Baldoni and the other defendants allegedly caused.

Baldoni and Lively have forcefully denied each other's respective allegations. Lawyers for Baldoni did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lively and Baldoni have feuded publicly since December, when Lively accused him of sexually harassing her while filming the 2024 movie "It Ends With Us," in which Baldoni co-starred and directed, and then trying to tarnish her reputation.

Litigation began when Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, followed by her own lawsuit in the Manhattan court.

Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios countersued, accusing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist, the New York Times NYT.N and others of orchestrating a smear campaign to extort him.

He accused Lively of trying to "hijack" the movie, whose themes included domestic violence, and then blame him when her "disastrous" promotional approach prompted an online backlash against her.

A March 2026 trial is scheduled.

Reynolds is also seeking a dismissal of Baldoni's lawsuit.

In a Tuesday court filing, Reynolds said the defamation case reflected "hurt feelings" based on the two times he allegedly called Baldoni a "predator."

Reynolds also said he "genuinely, perhaps passionately, believes" Baldoni's behavior reflects that of a predator, and that using the word is constitutionally protected opinion.

The Times, meanwhile, said it was merely doing journalism when it published the December 21, 2024 article "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine" about Lively and Baldoni, and was not helping Lively extract revenge.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan, who oversees both lawsuits, has signaled Baldoni is likely to lose his case against the Times.

"It Ends With Us" garnered mixed reviews, but grossed more than $351 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)

((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))