Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni refuse mediation, show no sign of settling lawsuit
2025-02-15
Category: entertainment

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have agreed to disagree. Legal teams for both Lively and Baldoni told Judge Lewis Liman that "settlement discussions would be premature," according to a joint letter filed in court and obtained by Fox News Digital. The letter also noted that "the parties agree that mediation and the Discovery Protocols… are inappropriate for this case." The federal judge agreed with the "It Ends With Us" stars and granted the order Thursday. Fox News Digital reached out to both sides for additional comment. BLAKE LIVELY VS JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW  In December, Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department and later in federal court. Baldoni, in his own lawsuit filed in January, insisted that Lively "falsely" had accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation amid the fallout around the movie's press tour after the actress took control of the film. Baldoni's legal team claimed that Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment. Both sides have denied the allegations against them. JUSTIN BALDONI CLAIMS BLAKE LIVELY ‘NEVER INTENDED’ TO FILE LAWSUIT: DOCS  LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS  Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds have until Feb. 18 to file an amended version of their complaint against Baldoni. The couple is also planning to file a motion to dismiss Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit. The deadline for Lively's legal team to file the dismissal motion is March 20. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER Lively and Reynolds' legal team have also subpoenaed phone records of Baldoni and others involved in the courtroom showdown over the alleged plot to ruin the actress's reputation. WATCH: HOW COULD RELEASED TEXTS IMPACT BLAKE LIVELY-JUSTIN BALDONI CASE?  "Ms. Lively has initiated discovery that will expose the people, tactics, and methods that have worked to ‘destroy’ and ‘bury’ her reputation and family over the past year," Lively's lawyers, Mike Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, told Fox News Digital in a statement. "We will now receive all of the ‘receipts’ that, unsurprisingly, are nowhere to be found on Mr. Freedman’s website, and like Ms. Lively, those ‘receipts’ will have their day in court." Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, slammed the move as a "fishing expedition." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP