Actress Blake Lively has been granted a modified protective order in court as her legal battle with Justin Baldoni continues. But the judge did not grant her all the restrictions she sought out.
The order only gave Lively partial protection
Blake Lively had asked for stricter safeguards regarding information around the case in order to avoid the leaking of private details to the media or within the industry.
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Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled on Thursday 13 March that some confidential materials will remain protected but that an ‘Attorneys’ Eyes Only’ (AEO) rule can only be applied if the disclosure of a piece of information is “highly likely to cause a significant business, commercial, financial or privacy injury.”
This means that information would be restricted to attorneys only if it’s highly sensitive and personal, and that not all information surrounding the case would have such restrictions.
The judge warned against gossip
As the judge partially granted Lively’s request, he acknowledged the high risks around the circulation of private information around the case within the industry.
“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,” the judge wrote in his ruling, according to People.
The actress’ team gave a statement
As per the outlet, a spokesperson for Lively gave a statement regarding the ruling on Thursday, saying, “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.”
Baldoni’s team also responded
The judge’s ruling stated that AEO designations should not be required on a case-by-case basis if information is sensitive enough that it is generally acknowledged to be appropriate for protection.
Justin Baldoni’s team also issued a statement after the ruling, saying that they never requested any information as sensitive as Lively claims things to be.
Baldoni’s attorney is “fully in agreement” with the court
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, said in a statement, “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.”
“We remain focused on the necessary communications that will directly contradict Ms. Lively’s unfounded accusations.”
Lively’s team had hoped for a broader AEO order
The actress’s attorneys had hoped for a broader AEO order which would have ensured confidentiality and limited access to certain information and materials. They argued that the lawsuit being between two known figures in the industry would pose an increased risk in information leaks.
They also claimed that keeping certain documents restricted to the attorneys’ eyes would help in largely avoiding harming the reputations of those involved.
Baldoni’s team didn’t want this order
The director’s legal team pushed back on this broad protective order request made by Lively’s team, claiming that her request was unnecessary and could hinder access to critical evidence.
The court has now given the order, rejecting Lively’s request for stricter safeguards on information around the case. Instead, the court stated that there would be certain protections for deeply personal information.
