Washington [US], February 22 : Actress Blake Lively has asked for "additional protections" in her ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni. As both sides agreed to a protective order (PO), attorneys for the actress and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, submitted a letter to Judge Lewis J. Liman in the Southern District of New York, requesting a stronger PO than the court's "model" one, reported People.
Among their requests for the proposed PO, which they also filed in a separate document, are "an Attorney's Eyes Only ('AEO') category, which applies to 'Confidential Discovery Material of such a highly confidential and personal, sensitive, or proprietary nature that the revelation of such is likely to cause a competitive, business, commercial, financial, personal or privacy injury,' " per the letter.
Lively and Reynolds' attorneys went on to claim that "good cause exists for the Court to adopt the Proposed PO," citing the actress's recently filed amended complaint against Baldoni, as per People.
"As detailed in Ms Lively's Amended Complaint, Ms Lively, her family, other members of the cast, various fact witnesses, and individuals that have spoken out publicly in support of Ms Lively have received violent, profane, sexist, and threatening communications," the letter states.
Baldoni's team shared in a statement, "We do not condone dangerous rhetoric targeted toward anyone no matter the situation," and said they, too, have faced threats during the legal dispute.
"Anyone receiving violent messages by anonymous parties is abhorrent. When private parties were wrongfully accused by Lively and her paid team of wrongdoing, they received continuous death threats and visits to private homes where young children reside.... No one should have to face that, especially private parties who do not have means for security detail," reported People.
Lively, who filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in December, has accused the director of sexual harassment and retaliation on the set of the upcoming 2024 film.
The judge, Lewis J. Liman, said Monday that he will hold an initial hearing on February 3, as per the outlet.
At that hearing, Lively's attorneys are expected to request an order prohibiting Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, from launching a public relations campaign over the issue.
Blake Lively's lawsuit alleges that she and other cast and crew members of 'It Ends With Us' experienced "invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behaviour" from Baldoni on set.
She further accuses him of retaliating against her by working with a crisis PR team to harm her reputation.
In response, Justin Baldoni has denied all allegations. Through his legal team, he has filed a USD 400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds
Freedman has stated that he intends to create a website to provide proof refuting Lively's harassment allegations. Lively's attorneys seek a protective injunction that would limit the sharing of discovery materials.
They also want the judge to remind Freedman of his duty under professional conduct guidelines.
Last week, Lively's solicitors, led by Michael Gottlieb, requested a hearing "as soon as possible" to address Freedman's media claims. The judge agreed to move the initial hearing date, which was initially planned for February 12, forward nine days, according to the outlet.
Liman plans to consolidate the two federal cases. On Monday, the judge asked the parties to set up a briefing schedule that would allow a trial to begin on March 9, 2026.
However, the date could be cancelled if the two reach a settlement before.
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