A judge partially denied Blake Lively's request for phone records as she claims Justin Baldoni led a smear campaign against her after filming "It Ends With Us." (Getty Images)
Liman denied Lively's request specifically for Baldoni's records but gave the "Gossip Girl" star options to subpoena records from "non-parties." "This request implicates legitimate privacy interests," the federal judge wrote. "Even though Lively has narrowed her request to exclude the content of calls or messages, the phone records themselves would still contain sensitive information regarding which doctors, psychologists, or even acquaintances the Wayfarer Parties spoke to, and when." BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW However, Lively will be able to request phone records of others who may have been involved in the alleged smear campaign. "Lively may make discovery requests tailored to those individuals," Liman noted. "She is permitted to use the tools of discovery to identify the contact information or telephone numbers for those individuals. Even assuming additional individuals participated in the alleged campaign, the hope that discovery will turn up information on such participants does not justify the broad scope of the Subpoenas."
Blake Lively subpoenaed Justin Baldoni's phone records regarding her ongoing legal battle with the actor. (Charly Triballeau)
He added, "The Wayfarer Parties may assert a privacy interest in their own phone records, but they have not provided any basis for asserting an interest in the communications of non-parties." Lively's team revealed that they are sending requests "directly" following Liman's order. "What is Bryan Freedman hiding? After promising to release all the ‘receipts,’ Freedman ran into court to keep secret the phone records of who Baldoni, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, Wallace and Abel were calling during their retaliatory campaign," a spokesperson for Lively told Fox News Digital. "So, 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." LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds' legal team subpoenaed phone records of Baldoni and others on Feb. 13. Lively accused Baldoni of setting out on a smear campaign after allegedly sexually harassing the actress on the set of "It Ends With Us."
Justin Baldoni allegedly sexually harassed Blake Lively on the set of "It Ends With Us." Baldoni has denied the allegations. (Getty Images)
"Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her reputation and family over the past year," Lively's lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, told Fox News Digital in a statement at the time. "We will now receive all of the ‘receipts’ that, unsurprisingly, are nowhere to be found on Mr. Freedman’s website, and like Ms. Lively, those ‘receipts’ will have their day in court." CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER In December, Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department and later in federal court.
Justin Baldoni filed his own lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Baldoni, in his own lawsuit filed in January, insisted that Lively had "falsely" accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation amid the fallout around the movie's press tour after the actress took control of the film. Baldoni's legal team claimed that Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment. In an amended complaint, Lively claimed that two additional female cast members are willing to testify during the scheduled 2026 trial. However, Baldoni's lawyer slammed the new version of the lawsuit as "unsubstantial hearsay."
Comments
Post a Comment