Justin Baldoni and his production banner Wayfarer and are suing a trio of insurers for refusing to cover costs related to litigating allegations of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us, adding a new wrinkle to the sprawling legal battle that could complicate their thinking behind legal maneuvering in the dueling lawsuits.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Baldoni accuses New York Marine, QBE Insurance Group Limited, and Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s of breach of contract for denying coverage of the lawsuit filed by Blake Lively. In total, the policies collectively carry at least $8 million in insurance.
Eight months into the labyrinthine web of lawsuits over the shooting and public relations machinations behind It Ends With Us, Wayfarer and the production vehicle for the film have been paying for Baldoni’s defense, according to the complaint.
The move comes after a different insurer for the film, Harco National Insurance, sued Wayfarer earlier this month seeking a court order that it has no duty to pay legal fees incurred by the production company or its officers, who include billionaire cofounder Steve Sarowitz or chief executive Jamey Heath. It said that a $2 million policy doesn’t apply because the alleged misconduct that triggers coverage occurred while Wayfarer wasn’t insured and that it wasn’t informed of Lively‘s complaints, a precursor to her lawsuit, during the filming of the movie.
In Wednesday’s lawsuit, Wayfarer takes issue with the insurers reneging on their duties to defend it against lawsuits alleging defamation, among other related claims.
New York Marine covered “personal and advertising injury,” which was defined as material that slanders or libels and violates a person’s right to privacy; QBE covered losses arising from claims against It Ends With Us, including productions made by the company; Lloyd’s covered “multimedia liability and advertising injury” for invasion of privacy and defamation, as well as “professional liability” for breach of contract.
The insurers were all notified by Wayfarer of Lively’s lawsuit in April and responded with denials of coverage. In a letter, QBE said that the claims in Lively’s lawsuit could trigger coverage but cited certain exclusions, which weren’t disclosed in the lawsuit.
According to the complaint, Lloyd’s replied, “The limited information provided to Underwriters does not reflect that the allegations against the Wayfarer parties arise from the Man Enough podcast or its related content.” Wayfarer argues that Lively’s lawsuit alleges that the production was an essential part of its alleged strategy to advance misleading counternarratives against the actress.
“Had the Underwriters done a more appropriate investigation, they readily would have discovered that the Man Enough podcast is mentioned more than 20 times,” writes Eliza Logan, a lawyer for Wayfarer, in the complaint.
Although Lively’s lawsuit brings a claim for false light invasion of privacy, it doesn’t allege defamation. They’re similar, but the latter mostly protects a person’s reputation from untruthful statements. Lively is pursuing the claim under allegations that her reputation was undermined by alleged public relations maneuvering by Baldoni, who didn’t respond to a request for comment.
With Wayfarer suing the insurers, there have been at least five publicly filed lawsuits over It Ends With Us. The battle features deep pockets on both sides, with Paylocity founder Sarowitz backing Baldoni and Ryan Reynolds backing Lively.
Baldoni is represented by Bryan Freedman, a prominent lawyer known for aggressively litigating cases. Some of the moves he’s made involve bringing a sister lawsuit against Wayfarer’s former publicist for breach of contract and subpoenaing Taylor Swift, who he claimed was the target of an extortion effort by Lively.