Blake Lively Wins the “Attorneys’ Eyes Only” Battle in Legal War With Justin Baldoni – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterThe lawyers in the case will be the only ones who may view certain information found in discovery — not even their clients may see it, after a ruling this week.
By
Kevin Dolak
Blake Lively won the latest round in the ongoing legal battle between the actress and her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, receiving an “attorneys’ eyes only” ruling for certain sensitive information surrounding the hot-topic cases filed by both stars.
Lively is suing Baldoni for his behavior on the set of It Ends With Us and for retaliation against her in a legal filing made in December. Amid her legal complaints and the flurry of press and subsequent publicist drama surrounding the accusations, Baldoni pushed back with a defamation suit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. As the legal wheels begin to turn ahead of a May 2026 courtroom showdown, Lively has requested that certain discovery material be limited to “attorneys’ eyes only,” given that the two main players in the case are well-known figures and leaks could be likely to happen.
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Judge Lewis Liman agreed to this on Thursday and warned that some information could be leaked if the attorneys shared it with their clients. Details about the stars, including trade secrets and the security measures taken by the actors, as well as all medical information and what’s referred to as “highly personal and intimate information about third parties,” will only be seen by the lawyers involved in the case — not even their clients may look.
“The risk of disclosure is great,” Judge Liman said, noting the potential for “gossip and innuendo” to emerge from the potential leaking of information being shared as part of discovery.
The objection from Baldoni’s attorneys here was not about keeping the material under wraps from the press and public, but rather the stipulation that the attorneys were not permitted to share this information with their clients, making the case difficult to litigate and potentially leading to further legal arguments between the two parties.
Judge Liman did not hand Lively’s legal team everything they’d requested, though, and in his decision, narrowed the scope of the materials held to attorneys only to include information that’s “highly likely to cause a significant business, commercial, financial or privacy injury,” Judge Liman noted Thursday.
He also said that secrecy here will make the discovery process “speedy.”
Lively’s complaint asserts that during filming, Baldoni made grossly inappropriate comments, forced her into sexually compromising scenarios without consent and then capped his bad behavior by working with his publicists on a social media campaign to smear her for speaking out.
Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and their PR rep alleges extortion, defamation and claims related to breach of contract.
The trial date for the case is set for May 29, 2026.Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
