Blake Lively’s emotional distress claims against Justin Baldoni dismissed by judge

The judge overseeing the lawsuit between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has dismissed the former’s claims of emotional distress.

The legal battle between the two kicked off last December, when Lively filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni. In the filing, she accused the It Ends With Us director of “inappropriate and unwelcome behaviour” and claimed he was trying to “destroy” her reputation.

Baldoni has denied all accusations and countersued on January 16, including Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane in the suit. He is suing them for $400million (£295million) and claims that the actress tried to extort him. In the aftermath of Lively’s suit, Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) and also had a women’s solidarity award rescinded.

Since the case began, there has been a tense back-and-forth over Lively’s claims of emotional distress, and Baldoni’s legal team filed a motion urging the actress to sign a HIPAA release. This would provide access to therapy notes and other relevant information as a way to identify the extent of the alleged distress.

Baldoni’s team then stated that the actress chose to “withdraw her claims” about emotional distress, and “refused” the “request that the withdrawal of such claims be with prejudice.”

Lively’s legal team called the move a “press stunt”, according to Variety, and pushed for the court to sanction Baldoni’s attorneys for abusing the docket. They also claimed that the allegations of Lively “refusing” to produce related documents were “intentionally misleading to the Court”.

Now, Judge Lewis Liman has said that Baldoni’s motion to compel has been denied – meaning that there is no possibility that Lively could change her mind and hand over the medical records.

Lively can either reach an agreement with the director and dismiss claims of emotional distress with prejudice – meaning she cannot refile them – or ask the court to dismiss the claims without an agreement. By opting for the latter, she stands a chance of having the court dismissing the claims without prejudice.

Regardless of the decision her legal team takes, Lively’s attorneys can no longer present evidence of her alleged emotional distress.

In a statement shared by Variety, Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb called the motion to compel “utterly pointless”. They added: “Ms. Lively has offered to dismiss those claims because they are no longer necessary, and she will continue to pursue emotional distress damages through other claims in her lawsuit, including sexual harassment and retaliation.”

Baldoni’s attorneys declined to comment on the ruling.

Last month it was revealed that Taylor Swift – who is close friends with Blake Lively – had been issued a subpoena by Justin Baldoni’s legal team. He claimed that ​​Lively invited him to her New York City residence to talk over possible script changes, and he was pressured by Swift and Reynolds to accept the revisions.

The subpoena of Swift was later dropped by Baldoni’s legal team and, speaking about the decision, Lively’s representatives said: “We are pleased that Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties have withdrawn their harassing subpoenas to Taylor Swift and her law firm.

“We supported the efforts of Taylor’s team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process.”

This is an ongoing story.

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