Blake Lively granted protective order; Legal battle heats up; Court demands clarity on deposition attendance

Time of India

a day ago

(Picture Courtesy: Facebook)
A judge has granted
Blake Lively
a protective order amid her ongoing legal battle with
Justin Baldoni
, reported E! News.
Three days after she requested a protective order requiring the director's team to identify everyone who would attend her deposition, Judge Lewis J.
Liman granted her request on July 14, as per the outlet.
According to legal documents obtained by E! News, Lively is expected to "make arrangements for opposing counsel to have a dedicated computer and the ability to print and copy documents in the space chosen by Lively."
Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios are required to notify Lively of the individuals who will attend her upcoming deposition, which is set to occur on July 17, two days prior, reported E! News.
In June, a New York federal judge has ruled that actor-producer Justin Baldoni can access messages between actress Blake Lively and singer Taylor Swift.
Blake Lively asked the court to prevent Baldoni
from obtaining messages
These messages are related to the film 'It Ends With Us' and the ongoing legal case between the movie's stars, reported Variety.
According to the publication, Lively had asked the court to prevent Baldoni from obtaining these messages, arguing that he was trying to involve Swift to gain public attention.However, Judge Lewis Liman disagreed and found that the messages might provide crucial information relevant to the case.
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In his order, the judge stated that while public opinion plays a role in high-profile cases, the messages could offer useful insights.
He also reminded the parties that a protective order is in place, so the messages cannot be shared with the press."A motion or request may be, and in this case often has been, both a legitimate litigation tactic and an attempt to maneuver in the broader court of public opinion," the judge wrote.
Baldoni's lawyers had earlier sent subpoenas to Swift and her legal team.
However, Swift's team issued a statement saying that she had no role in the film except allowing one of her songs to be used. They also said she only saw the film weeks after its release. Following this, Baldoni's team withdrew the subpoenas.
Lively's lawyers sought to resolve the matter entirely, insisting that Swift was not involved. However, the judge ruled that since Lively had mentioned Swift's knowledge of issues on the film set, her messages could help prove or disprove her claims of harassment and retaliation
Lively had sued Baldoni in December, accusing him and his publicists of spreading false stories about her in the media after she spoke about sexual harassment during the film's production.
Baldoni filed a countersuit, accusing her of ruining his reputation, but that case was dismissed last week.
Lively's legal team alleged, per the July 11 filing, that Baldoni's team had previously "refused Ms. Lively's reasonable requests" to cooperate.
"Defendants have not denied that their intent is to manufacture a harassing publicity stunt by requiring Ms. Lively to parade through paparazzi," the request stated, "or by inviting unknown attendees to the deposition, including members of the media or social media influencers, or any other number of abusive tactics," reported E! News.
"Despite Ms. Lively's repeated efforts to confer," the documents continued, "Defendants have refused to address these concerns and have responded only with their insistence that they alone control all logistics and security issues."
However, Baldoni's legal team opposed Lively's motion in a July 13 letter to the judge.
"Lively relies solely on inapplicable authority and unsupported accusations about opposing counsel and their motives," the actor's legal team wrote. "Lively does not present a single fact to support her allegations of a 'plot' to use the deposition as a 'publicity stunt'," reported E! News. (ANI)