A federal judge has warned Justin Baldoni‘s lawyers against legal maneuvering that he said may be intended to “promote scandal arising out of unproven potentially libelous statements.”
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman on Thursday struck from the court’s docket a letter from Bryan Freedman, representing Baldoni, accusing Blake Lively‘s legal team of trying to extort Taylor Swift. Freedman claimed that the actress’ lawyer reached out to an attorney at the law firm Venable, which represents the singer, and demanded that Swift issue a public statement in support of the actress under the threat of releasing personal text messages in Lively’s possession if the request was refused.
“Counsel is advised that future misuse of the Court’s docket may be met with sanctions,” Liman wrote.
In the letter filed on Wednesday, Freedman said that a representative for Swift “addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats” in at least one written message to Lively’s legal team. He moved for access to those communications since they’d substantiate claims that Lively is intimidating and coercing witnesses in the sprawling legal battle. Additional details weren’t provided beyond an anonymous source “highly likely to have reliable information.”
Michael Gottlieb, a lawyer for Lively, denied the accusations.
In Thursday’s ruling, the court stressed that it has the authority to strike filings in the case that are “abusive” and “improper.” He said that the letter invites press uproar by suggesting that Lively and her lawyers attempted to extort a high-profile celebrity. Allowing the filing to stand would allow the court’s docket to serve as a “reservoir of libelous statements for press consumption,” Liman wrote.
Lively’s lawyers argued that Baldoni’s legal team filed the letter to launder defamatory allegations about the actress through the case. Under New York law, there’s immunity from liability for press in connection with reporting about filings and proceedings in court.
A representative for Lively declined to comment.
The letter was filed days after after Swift was subpoenaed by Baldoni’s legal team. Her involvement in the dueling lawsuits relates to an incident in which Lively invited the It Ends With Us director to her New York City home in 2023 to discuss changes to a rooftop scene at the beginning of the movie. Once there, Baldoni said he was ambushed by Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and close friend, Swift, according to the lawsuit, which cites communications that include the name “Taylor.” The megastars praised Lively’s version of the scene, allegedly pressuring Baldoni to accept the revisions.