Blake Lively is being accused of employing โsuper shadyโ legal tactics behind the scenes, tactics that Justin Baldoniโs legal team says amount to an โabuse of process.โ
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are embroiled in a fresh legal battle over a newly filed court document.
According to legal papers obtained by Us Weekly, a plaintiff known as โVanzanโ submitted legal documentation on September 27, 2024, targeting unspecified defendants. (Deadline broke the story first.)

โThis action stems from an ongoing effort to harm Plaintiffโs business operations and reputation,โ the court documents revealed. โDefendants have specific contractual and confidentiality commitments, as well as obligations of good faith and loyalty to Plaintiff regarding Plaintiffโs business and reputation, established through verbal promises and/or written contracts.โ
Responding to this previously undisclosed subpoena-seeking lawsuit, Baldoniโs legal representative Bryan Freedman shared insights about the potential motivations and implications behind these legal maneuvers.
โMs. Livelyโs and Mr. Reynoldsโ company Vanzan had nothing to do with this case and they knew it,โ Freedman stated to Us Weekly on Monday, April 21. โThis sham lawsuit was designed to obtain subpoena power without oversight or scrutiny, and in doing so denied my clients the ability to contest the propriety, nature and scope of the subpoena.โ

Freedman, who has previously initiated Doe lawsuits against unnamed defendants, emphasized that โthere is nothing normal about thisโ and court officials โhave a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law.โ
โA party with no connection to these proceedings asserting a breach of contract against another party they claim not to be able to identify does not qualify,โ he concluded. โThis was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.โ
However, Livelyโs attorneys Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb present a contrasting perspective.
While acknowledging the Doe lawsuit, they maintain that the legal filing was the most appropriate method to investigate the online attacks Lively allegedly experienced during summer 2024 when It Ends With Us hit theaters.

โThere is nothing untoward here โ just conscientious and thorough investigation,โ Hudson and Gottlieb declared in their statement. โThe Lively parties acted upon reliable information, and employed common tools such as Doe lawsuits and civil subpoenas that are entirely lawful and appropriate for pursuing claims and uncovering the identity of unknown perpetrators of unlawful activities.โ
According to Livelyโs legal team, the lawsuit has exposed โthe Wayfarer Partiesโ documented scheme โ revealed through their own text messages โ to โdestroyโ Blake Lively, a plan they executed without transparency or notice to Ms. Lively or the public, operating in what they believed would be an โuntraceableโ manner. We have nothing to conceal โ Ms. Lively voluntarily disclosed the subpoena in her initial filing, knowing it would eventually be provided to the Wayfarer Parties during discovery, which is exactly what will happen as Ms. Livelyโs claims proceed through proper legal channels.โ
The legal drama between Lively and Baldoni, who collaborated on It Ends With Us, kicked off in December 2024 when the former Gossip Girl star accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a โsmear campaignโ against her.

That same month, Baldoni filed separate lawsuits targeting The New York Times, which first published the allegations, and Lively, 37, claiming defamation among other charges. (All involved parties have strongly denied any wrongdoing against them.)
Earlier, Judge Lewis J. Liman scheduled Baldoni and Livelyโs trial to commence in New York on March 9, 2026, barring any out-of-court settlement between the costars.
When questioned about potential out-of-court resolution, Freedman emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting these allegations are โa really serious matterโ requiring truth to come to light.
โIn todayโs world, the only real path to redemption is proving your innocence, and thatโs what weโre actively pursuing,โ he revealed during the March 12 episode of โThe Townโ podcast with host and former attorney Matthew Belloni. โThat vindication may only be achievable in a courtroom.โ