Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal teams battled over a proposed protective order during a 90-minute hearing Thursday.
The two parties have been arguing about how much protection and confidentiality is necessary in the case. Lively sued Baldoni in December for sexual harassment. However, Baldoni insisted in his lawsuit that Lively “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation after the fallout around the movie’s press tour after she took control of the film.
Lively’s lawyers argued for an “attorney’s eyes only” (AEO) designation for evidence in the case, seemingly pushing for text messages with “high-profile individuals” to be kept hidden from the public.
“There is a significant chance of irreparable harm if marginal conversations with high-profile individuals with no relevance to the case were to fall into wrong hands,” Lively’s lawyer, Meryl Conant Governski, argued during the hearing, insinuating a chance of texts leaking.
Governski claimed there are “100 million reasons” Baldoni’s side may leak text messages due to public relations value.
Lively’s team focused on examples of information that should be kept confidential, including security measures taken to protect the actress, her husband and their children. The lawyers argued there is no reason for anybody to know about the specific security measures the family has in place.
Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said it was offensive to suggest the team would disregard a protective order from the court. The lawyer pushed back against the “attorneys’ eyes only” designation, stating his concern Lively’s legal team was shifting the burden to the defense.
Freedman also confirmed there is no intention to disclose any information regarding Lively’s medical and psychological records.
Judge Lewis Liman noted if something relevant to the case was discussed, the defense should be able to discuss and use it. However, the judge did not make a decision on which protective order would be put in place during Thursday’s hearing.
BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
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Lively and others who have spoken out in support of the actress have received “violent” messages, leading the “Gossip Girl” star to request “heightened” protections, according to a letter filed in court Feb. 20 and obtained by Fox News Digital.
“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 filing said.
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Baldoni’s legal team filed a response to Lively’s request for “heightened protections” and privacy in court ahead of Thursday’s hearing.
“Given how actively the Lively Parties have publicized and litigated Ms. Lively’s claims in the media, we are surprised to now learn how vehemently she wants to prevent the public from accessing material and relevant evidence,” the response says.
Baldoni’s team emphasized its approval of the court’s model protective order but noted having an “attorneys’ eyes only” designation for discovery was “not warranted.”
“Although the Lively Parties contend that the ability to designate information AEO is appropriate because the ‘litigation involves claims of sexual harassment in the workplace,’ … Ms. Lively has already publicized the alleged details of the so-called ‘harassment’ in her Amended Complaint spanning 138 pages and almost 500 paragraphs.”
