Justin Baldoni's Lawyers Say Blake Lively's Businesses Failed Because She's Unlikable

Justin Baldoni's lawyers say he and the other defendants in Blake Lively's lawsuit can't be held responsible for her businesses going belly up ... because she's not a marvelous mogul.

The two sides were in court Tuesday to discuss pretrial issues ... and, damages came up --specifically, Lively arguing Baldoni and others damaged her public reputation, which caused her brands to take a beating.

Baldoni's lawyers disagreed, firing back that Blake has a poor track record of running businesses ... and companies like her liquor brand Betty Buzz failed because people just don't like her.

They even brought up an example of Lively mocking Kate Middleton's photoshop drama ... something she alter apologized for when it came out the Princess of Wales had cancer. Baldoni's team called this "bullying" of Middleton and said it also damaged Lively's image.

Baldoni's team also claims that the $132 million Lively says she would've earned over the next five years isn't a fair number ... because Lively only works sporadically, and she'd basically have to work around the clock to meet that dollar amount.

Lively's lawyers argue she might have made a sequel to "It Ends With Us" -- her smash hit with Baldoni, which started all this legal drama -- but his team blasts that assertion ... pointing out Sony Pictures exec Andrea Giannetti referred to Lively as a "f***ing terrorist."

The harsh rhetoric proves the studio wasn't likely to work with her on a sequel, Baldoni's side adds.

As for Blake ... her team says the businesses might have taken off if Baldoni hadn't allegedly retaliated against her and completely derailed businesses like her haircare brand, Blake Brown.