Blake Lively; Justin Baldoni.Photo:Jeff Spicer/Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty
Jeff Spicer/Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty
A federal judge has shut down part ofBlake Lively’s subpoena for phone records amid herongoing legal conflictwithIt Ends With Usdirector-costarJustin Baldoni.
In court documents released Friday, Feb. 28, Judge Lewis J. Liman issued a mixed ruling, saying that thesubpoena from Lively’s legal teamfor communications from Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios dating back to 2022 was “overly intrusive and disproportionate to the needs of the case."
“Lively has identified no means to segregate those numbers that may have some relevance to her case from those numbers that would have no relevance and would reveal sensitive personal information,” reads the judge’s ruling, which notes that in Lively’sinitial complaintagainst Baldoni alleging sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign, she claimed the negative campaign began in August 2024.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said that the judge “put a stop” to the actress-producer’s “egregious attempt to invade our clients’ privacy. This is a big win. No matter how the Lively Parties may try to spin this decision, the Court saw their efforts for what they really are: a desperatefishing expeditionintended to salvage their debunked claims long after they already savaged our clients’ reputations in theNew York Times."
A spokesperson for Lively also responded to the ruling in a statement: “What is Bryan Freedman hiding? After promising torelease all the ‘receipts,’Freedman ran into court to keep secret the phone records of who Baldoni [and his associates] were calling during their retaliatory campaign.”
The statement continues, “instead of getting these records from the phone carriers the way we initially requested, the judge has ruled that if we simply submit more specific requests, we will be able to get the records we are seeking. Today we will do that, we are submitting those requests directly to defendants involved and we look forward to seeing the records.”
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Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds; Justin Baldoni.Theo Wargo/WireImage; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty
Theo Wargo/WireImage; Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty
In a Feb. 13 letter filed in New York federal court, attorneys for both Lively and Baldoniopted outof “inappropriate” and “premature” mediation, indicating that both cases inLively v. Wayfarer Studios et al.will go to trial in theirMarch 2026 court date.
On Feb. 18, Livelyfiled an updated versionof her original December 2024 lawsuit, claiming that two unidentified femaleIt Ends with Uscostars“will testify”about Baldoni’s allegedly inappropriate behavior on the Colleen Hoover adaptation’s set. Freedmancalledthe amended complaint “underwhelming” and “filled with unsubstantial hearsay of unnamed persons who are clearly no longer willing to come forward or publicly support her claims.”
source: people.com
