Justin Baldoni is still quite miffed with Blake Lively

Blake Lively is being accused of employing โ€œsuper shadyโ€ legal tactics behind the scenes, tactics that Justin Baldoniโ€™s legal team says amount to an โ€œabuse of process.โ€

Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni Filming โ€˜It Ends With Usโ€™ In New Jersey
Photo Credit: Elder Ordonez/INSTARimages

Blake Lively is being accused of employing โ€œsuper shadyโ€ legal tactics behind the scenes, tactics that Justin Baldoniโ€™s legal team says amount to an โ€œabuse 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 โ€œVanzanโ€ submitted legal documentation on September 27, 2024, targeting unspecified defendants. (Deadline broke the story first.)

World Premiere Of 'It Ends With Us'
Justin Baldoni attends the โ€˜It Ends With Usโ€™ World Premiere on August 8, 2024 in New York City. Photo Credit: Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com

โ€œThis action stems from an ongoing effort to harm Plaintiffโ€™s business operations and reputation,โ€ the court documents revealed. โ€œDefendants have specific contractual and confidentiality commitments, as well as obligations of good faith and loyalty to Plaintiff regarding Plaintiffโ€™s business and reputation, established through verbal promises and/or written contracts.โ€

Responding to this previously undisclosed subpoena-seeking lawsuit, Baldoniโ€™s legal representative Bryan Freedman shared insights about the potential motivations and implications behind these legal maneuvers.

โ€œMs. Livelyโ€™s 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. โ€œThis 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€

London Screening of 'Another Simple Favour'
Blake lively attends a screening of โ€˜Another Simple Favourโ€™ at the Ham Yard Hotel, in London on April 15, 2025. Photo Credit: Ian West/PA Images/INSTARimages

Freedman, who has previously initiated Doe lawsuits against unnamed defendants, emphasized that โ€œthere is nothing normal about thisโ€ and court officials โ€œhave a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law.โ€

โ€œA 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. โ€œThis was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.โ€

However, Livelyโ€™s 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.

Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni Film Kissing Scene For 'It Ends With Us'
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni spotted filming a kissing scene at the โ€˜It Ends With Usโ€™ set in New Jersey. When: 12 Jan 2024. Photo Credit: Jose Perez/INSTARimages

โ€œThere is nothing untoward here โ€” just conscientious and thorough investigation,โ€ Hudson and Gottlieb declared in their statement. โ€œThe 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 Livelyโ€™s legal team, the lawsuit has exposed โ€œthe Wayfarer Partiesโ€™ documented scheme โ€” revealed through their own text messages โ€” to โ€˜destroyโ€™ Blake Lively, a plan they executed without transparency or notice to Ms. Lively or the public, operating in what they believed would be an โ€˜untraceableโ€™ 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. Livelyโ€™s 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 โ€œsmear campaignโ€ against her.

Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni Film Kissing Scene For 'It Ends With Us'
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni spotted filming a kissing scene at the โ€˜It Ends With Usโ€™ set in New Jersey. When: 12 Jan 2024. Photo Credit: Jose Perez/INSTARimages

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 Livelyโ€™s 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 โ€œa really serious matterโ€ requiring truth to come to light.

โ€œIn todayโ€™s world, the only real path to redemption is proving your innocence, and thatโ€™s what weโ€™re actively pursuing,โ€ he revealed during the March 12 episode of โ€œThe Townโ€ podcast with host and former attorney Matthew Belloni. โ€œThat vindication may only be achievable in a courtroom.โ€