Legal showdown over $400 million: attorneys for Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively will face off in the initial hearing.
Today in the USA, the first hearing in the defamation case between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will take place. The parties will debate the disclosure of legal documents and the possibility of Lively being questioned by Baldoni's attorney. The case is gaining momentum, and Judge Lyman is expected to make key decisions, as reported by UNN citing DailyMail.
Details
The attorneys for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni will meet on Monday in federal court, where the $400 million defamation lawsuit will commence. According to sources close to Baldoni's team, they did not violate any regulations by releasing previously unavailable legal documents online.
The stars of the movie "Throw It If You Love It" are not required to attend the pretrial conference in New York, which is set to begin at 11:00 AM and will mark the first stage of their legal confrontation.
The situation is complicated by the unexpected involvement of another influential attorney, Sigrid McCauley, known for her work on cases involving victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Late Sunday evening, it was announced that she will represent the interests of Lively's publicist and co-defendant Leslie Sloan, who is accused of colluding to discredit Baldoni.
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The legal teams will contest several key issues, particularly Lively's demand for confidentiality and her alleged refusal to testify before Baldoni's lead attorney, Brian Friedman, as she is outraged by Friedman’s comments, which she describes as "offensive and oppressive." Lively insists that Judge Lewis Lyman should prohibit him from commenting on the case in the media.
Tensions escalated after Baldoni's team launched a website, Thelawsuitinfo.com, on Saturday, disclosing new details about the case and a timeline of events leading to the conflict.
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Among the released documents is private correspondence between Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, and Baldoni. In the messages, Reynolds initially expresses admiration for the collaboration between his wife and Baldoni:
"I’m excited that Blake is opening her creative vault with someone as dynamic as you... I love you, Justin."
Another message from Lively to Baldoni during discussions about the script for a key scene has a candid and flirtatious tone:
"If you knew me (personally) longer, you would understand how flirty and fun popping the balloons will be. That’s my love language."
It remains unclear how Judge Lewis Lyman, appointed by Trump, will view the publication of these materials. However, Justin Baldoni's team insists that all disclosed documents are official court materials already available for public viewing through the state website Pacer.
"This is not an attempt to provoke conflict, but rather a demonstration of transparency by Justin and his team," a source told DailyMail. According to them, the website Thelawsuitinfo.com was created solely to provide the public access to legal documents that are already publicly available.
Additionally, Judge Lyman must decide on the request for Brian Friedman, an experienced entertainment attorney, to question Blake Lively under oath. Friedman has previously represented clients such as Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Julia Roberts, and is now advocating for Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.
Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds' attorneys have raised objections regarding the questioning that Friedman is set to conduct. In a court filing on Friday, Baldoni's attorney Kevin Fritz stated:
"Ms. Lively's representatives object to the lead attorney of Wayfarer Studios questioning her personally, citing vague statements made by Mr. Friedman."
The court must decide whether to grant this motion or if Blake Lively will indeed have to answer Friedman's questions in the course of the trial.
Reminder
The scandal surrounding Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is gaining momentum: the actress, along with her husband Ryan Reynolds, has filed a legal request against Baldoni's attorney following the release of a video from the set of the film "Throw It If You Love It."