Recently, Blake Lively approached a New York court to seek to withdraw ‘emotional distress’ claims she alleged against her It Ends with Us co-star, Justin Baldoni. The move comes after Baldoni’s legal team requested access to Lively’s medical records to substantiate her accusations.
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The actress earlier alleged “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration and mental anguish”. Lively had sought to withdraw her claims without prejudice, which would prevent the opposing party from using said evidence in court.
Now, Deadline has reported Judge Lewis J. Liman of the Southern District of New York has put the hullabaloo surrounding the claim to rest by dismissing it altogether. In a court order obtained by the publication, Judge Liman wrote, "The motion to compel... is denied based on Plaintiff's representation that the relevant claims will be withdrawn."
In addition, the court warned that if Lively does not dismiss the claims, she will not be permitted to present further evidence to support her “emotional distress”. "For avoidance of doubt, if the claims are not dismissed, the Court will preclude Blake from offering any evidence of emotional distress."
ALSO READ | Blake Lively files motion seeking to dismiss Justin Baldoni's defamation countersuit
On Tuesday, Lively’s representatives labelled Baldoni’s motion of request as “a press stunt”. “Ms. Lively respectfully requests that the Court exercise its inherent authority to control its own docket and strike the Motion as unnecessary, improper, and abusive,” her attorneys from Willkie Farr & Gallagher wrote to the court.
A court date has been set for the high-profile case on March 9, 2026. Preliminary hearings commenced earlier this year in February.