Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni judge clamps down on confidential material and acknowledges 'gossip' could spread
Blake Lively's request for stricter guidelines surrounding the release of confidential material in her ongoing case with "It Ends With Us" director and co-star Justin Baldoni has been granted.
In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday, Judge Lewis Liman responded to Lively's "attorney's eyes only" (AEO) request for evidence in the ongoing case, granting a modified order that is expected to "protect the confidentiality of certain nonpublic and confidential material that will be exchanged pursuant to and during the course of discovery" in the case.
"The designation ‘Attorneys’ Eyes Only’ shall only be utilized for Confidential Discovery Material of such a highly confidential and personal, sensitive, or proprietary nature that the revelation of such is highly likely to cause a significant competitive, business, commercial, financial, or privacy injury to the producing party," the documents stated.
BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
Liman said the court's modified protective order was granted due to the risk of "gossip" being spread among both parties.
"These cases involve both business competitors and allegations of sexual harm," Liman said in his court order. "Discovery will necessarily include confidential and sensitive business and personal information. The risk of disclosure is great. Both the Moving Parties and the Wayfarer Parties have accused opposing parties of providing private, sensitive, or confidential information to the media for their own business and personal advantage in ways that cannot easily be traced."
"The details of this case have been closely followed in the media, and each side has accused the other of litigating this case via the media," the judge continued. "And where confidential information is not disclosed to the media, it may spread by gossip and innuendo to those in the tight artistic community in a position to do harm to one or the other of the parties but in a manner that might not be readily and immediately detected."
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Lively said the "Another Simple Favor" actress plans to "move forward" in the discovery process that will "prove her claims" in court.
"Today, the Court rejected the Wayfarer Parties' objections and entered the protections needed to ensure the free flow of discovery material without any risk of witness intimidation or harm to any individual’s security. With this order in place, Ms. Lively will move forward in the discovery process to obtain even more of the evidence that will prove her claims in Court," the statement said.
Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Fox News Digital that the actor and his team are content with the court's decision.
"We are fully in agreement with the Court’s decision to provide a narrow scope of protections to categories such as private mental health records and personal security measures that have never been of interest to us as opposed to Ms. Lively’s exceedingly overbroad demand for documents for a 2.5 year period of time which the court rightly quashed," said Freedman.
"We remain focused on the necessary communications that will directly contradict Ms. Lively’s unfounded accusations," he added. "We will oppose any efforts by Ms. Lively and her team to hamper our clients’ ability to defend against her attacks by incorrectly categorizing important information as ‘trade secrets,’ especially considering there were no issues in providing these communications willingly to The New York Times."
Last week, Lively's lawyers argued for an 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.
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Freedman pushed back against the AEO designation, stating his concern that Lively's legal team was shifting the burden to the defense. He also confirmed there is no intention to disclose any information regarding Lively's medical and psychological records.
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 on 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.
WATCH: NEW FOX NATION SPECIAL EXAMINES THE LEGAL BATTLE BETWEEN BLAKE LIVELY AND JUSTIN BALDONI
Baldoni's legal team filed a response to Lively's request for "heightened protections" and privacy in court ahead of the March 6 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 said.
In December, Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath for sexual harassment, retaliation and emotional distress. She first filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department and later filed one in federal court in December.
In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of civil extortion and defamation.
In addition to releasing a website detailing the timeline of events that allegedly occurred, Baldoni's team also shared unedited footage from the set of "It Ends With Us." Both Lively and Baldoni have claimed the footage bolsters their respective claims.
After the release, Lively's legal team demanded a gag order be issued against Baldoni's lawyer.
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"As Ms. Lively’s counsel have attempted, repeatedly, to caution Mr. Freedman, federal litigation must be conducted in court and according to the relevant rules of professional conduct," court documents state. "His conduct threatens to, and will, materially prejudice both the Lively Case and the Wayfarer Case by tainting the jury pool, because his statements are deliberately aimed at undermining the ‘character, credibility, [and] reputation’ of numerous relevant parties."
On Jan. 23, Baldoni's lawyers filed a response, calling Lively's gag order attempt an "intimidation tactic" and "tactical gamesmanship."
Fox News Digital's Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.