Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively filed separate lawsuits against each other following the production of It Ends With Us.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni remain at an impasse.
Attorneys for both actors informed Judge Lewis Liman that “settlement discussions would be premature,” according to a joint court letter obtained by Fox News Digital. The letter also stated that “the parties agree that mediation and the Discovery Protocols… are inappropriate for this case.”
The federal judge sided with the It Ends With Us stars, granting the order on Thursday.
In December, Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department—later moving it to federal court—accusing Justin Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath of sexual harassment, retaliation, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.
In response, Baldoni filed his own lawsuit in January, arguing that Lively “falsely” accused him in an effort to restore her image following the controversy surrounding the film’s press tour after she assumed control of the project. His legal team asserted that Lively lacked proof of a targeted smear campaign and instead used the accusations to rehabilitate her reputation.
Both parties have denied the allegations against them.
Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have until February 18 to submit a revised version of their lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. Additionally, the couple intends to file a motion to dismiss Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit.
Lively’s legal team has until March 20 to submit the dismissal motion.
Lively and Reynolds’ legal team has issued subpoenas for the phone records of Baldoni and others connected to the legal battle over the alleged scheme to damage Lively’s reputation.
Lively’s attorneys, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, stated that she has begun the discovery process to uncover the individuals, tactics, and strategies allegedly used to “destroy” her reputation and family over the past year. In a statement to Fox News Digital, they said, “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.”
Meanwhile, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, dismissed the effort as a “fishing expedition.”
