Justin Baldoni Scores Small Legal Win After Strong Message To Blake Lively
Justin Baldoni's strong message to Blake Lively seems to be already yielding fruit in court.
The director received a favorable ruling in his ongoing court case involving his "It Ends With Us" co-star. He can now review private conversations between Taylor Swift and Lively about the case.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's bitter legal dispute has reportedly had personal consequences, particularly for the friendship between Taylor Swift and the actress.
Baldoni has now advanced further in the hot legal pursuit between himself and co-star Lively. Now, the director can review the conversations between the two friends to see what was said and what was not.
The essence of this ruling is to help the court and Baldoni prove the validity of Lively's claims of harassment or otherwise- due to her closeness to the performer, a personal conversation may not be unusual.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman added that only relevant information to the case must be examined should Baldoni go through these private text messages. While Lively's legal team pulled all the strings to absolve Swift from this new ruling, their pleas were disregarded.
Per Page Six, the movie star had earlier pleaded with the court to protect her interaction with Swift last Friday, noting that they are not crucial to the case.
It all started when Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her and proceeded to coordinate a smear campaign targeted at diminishing her career.
Swift was then introduced to the mix when the director name-dropped her in his now-dismissed $400 million counter lawsuit. The singer even bagged a subpoena in May to testify as a witness in an upcoming trial for the case next year, but the request was subsequently dropped.
According to Baldoni, Lively leveraged her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her friend Swift's social currency to control things on the set of "It Ends With Us."
He added that he was also invited as a guest to Lively and Reynold's home, where one of their "famous" close friends was present. There, the issue of rewriting movie scripts and readjusting the story was raised.
Baldoni's attorney continued that Lively bragged about her husband and her billionaire friend during a conversation, referring to them as her "dragon." Bryan Freedman continued that Lively's statement was a subtle threat to his client, making him aware of his unsafe professional environment.
Last week, The Blast shared that Baldoni suffered a crushing defeat in court on another lawsuit he dragged a news outlet to court for. On June 9, a federal judge threw out Baldoni's $250 million libel suit against The New York Times.
The director also got his $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband, and her publicist Leslie Sloane dismissed. This double defeat prompted a significant reaction from Lively.
The actress' legal team tagged the ruling as a total victory and absolute vindication for their client. In her words on Instagram, she described Baldoni's suit as defeated.
Despite the pronouncement, the judge states that the two major claims cited in Baldoni's countersuit, namely, breach of implied covenant and tortious interference, can be amended later this month.
For that reason, Lively and her team have also been advised to slow down on the early celebration by an attorney who is not involved with the case. The lawyer told PEOPLE:
"The decision is undoubtedly a blow to Baldoni. But the case is far from over. One thing I've learned many times over as a litigator is not to celebrate too early."
Baldoni's loss in court did not surprise his legal team. According to them, it was more of a move for them to bring public awareness to the ongoing case, which they have achieved despite the dismissal. Freedman then took a jab at Lively and her legal team for their reaction to the ruling.
"Lively and her team's predictable declaration of victory is false. Lively's allegations are no truer today than they were yesterday, and with the facts on our side, we march forward with the same confidence that we had when Ms. Lively and her cohorts initiated this battle," Freed notes."
The lawyer continued that he, along with his team, was battle-ready for Lively's next line of action, including a deposition, which he would personally handle.
As soon as the director files his amendments for claims that were dismissed, his lawyers expect his co-star to react by filing another motion to dismiss.
In his ruling, the federal judge declared that neither Sloane nor the Times acted with intent to defame Baldoni. He added that the news agency also has no existing motive to agree with Lively's narrative or promote it.
Lively looked radiant for her first appearance on the heels of Baldoni's loss in court. She took her victory lap at the Chanel Tribeca Festival Artists Dinner in New York City.
The "Gossip Girl" actress looked ethereal in a white crochet outfit paired with her signature Christian Louboutin heels and Chanel accessories. She strutted her stuff on the carpet, serving killer angles to the teeming photographers.
The actress was reportedly elated to get the $400 million lawsuit off her back for good and even cried with relief after hearing the verdict.
What does June 23 have in store for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni?
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