Judge Rules Blake Lively's Emotional Distress Claims Against Justin Baldoni Are Officially Dead
Judge Lewis Liman wrote this morning that Baldoni's motion to compel is denied 'based on Plaintiff's representation that the relevant claims will be withdrawn. Lively's request that 'because the parties have agreed to dismiss Ms. Lively's tenth and eleventh causes of action . . . the Court exercise its inherent authority and authority under Rule 15 to dismiss them without prejudice' is denied without prejudice to renewal. The parties shall stipulate to whether the dismissal is with or without prejudice, or Lively shall renew her request by formal motion. For avoidance of doubt, if the claims are not dismissed, the Court will preclude Lively from offering any evidence of emotional distress.'
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In short, Judge Liman shut down the possibility of Lively changing her mind and turning over her medical records.
Lively can choose to try to reach an agreement with Baldoni about dismissing the claims with prejudice — meaning without the right to refile — or she can roll the dice and ask the judge to dismiss the claims without an agreement, in a bid to have him dismiss them without prejudice. Either way, Lively's attorneys can no longer present evidence of her emotional distress claims.
On Monday, Baldoni's lawyers filed a motion seeking to compel the actress to sign a HIPAA release for access to therapy notes and other relevant information and referenced her desire to drop the claims rather than acquiesce.
'Instead of complying with the Medical RFPs, Ms. Lively's counsel recently advised us, in writing, that Ms. Lively is withdrawing her [infliction of emotional distress] Claims,' the filing stated. 'However, Ms. Lively has refused the Wayfarer Parties' reasonable request that the withdrawal of such claims be with prejudice. She is only willing to withdraw her claims without prejudice. In other words, Ms. Lively wants to simultaneously: (a) refuse to disclose the information and documents needed to disprove that she suffered any emotional distress and/or that the Wayfarer Parties were the cause; and (b) maintain the right to re-file her IED Claims at an unknown time in this or some other court after the discovery window has closed.'
Lively's lawyers called the filing 'a press stunt' and filed their own response that urged the court to sanction Baldoni's attorneys for the abusing the docket and requested that the motion to compel Lively be denied and struck. 'It is based on two brazenly false assertions. First, they claim that Ms. Lively has 'refused' to disclose medical and mental health information, but as counsel for the Wayfarer Parties concede, that information is relevant only to Ms. Lively's stand-alone tort-based emotional distress claims that she indicated she was withdrawing,' the Lively filing noted. 'To suggest that Ms. Lively has 'refused' to produce anything (in either her written discovery responses, in the parties' conference, or anytime thereafter) in connection with these claims is intentionally misleading to the Court and their intended audience for this false record: the public. Second, they claim that Ms. Lively has 'refused' to properly stipulate to dismissal. But, that would suggest there was any discussion or mutually known dispute as to the stipulation. As noted, there was none.'
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