Ms. Blake Lively’s Sanctions Motion Denied in Lively v. Wayfarer Studios/Mr. Justin Baldoni

The most recent decision in Ms. Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Justin Baldoni and others, is Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC, 2026 WL 709988 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2026).  The court wrote:

Plaintiff Blake Lively moves, pursuant to New York Professional Conduct Rule 3.6 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(f), for an order granting sanctions against Bryan Freedman, counsel for the Wayfarer Parties…. Plaintiff asserts that Freedman should be sanctioned for making extrajudicial statements commenting upon her character and credibility that will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the adjudicative proceedings in this matter. The statements were made between eight and eleven months before the then-scheduled trial date in this matter. Assuming without deciding that Freedman’s statements were not protected by the safe harbor provision in Rule 3.6(d), Plaintiff has not shown that those statements, given when they were made, are substantially likely to prejudice any adjudicative proceedings in this case. Accordingly, the motion is DENIED.

The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close the motion at Dkt. No. 543. [emphasis added].

The case has generated many discovery decisions. A few of them are discussed in the following blogs:

• Lively v. Wayfarer Parties/Baldoni – Requests to Seal, Unseal, and a “Bottom-Line Order” (Jan. 23, 2026);
• What Connects “Popcorned Planet” and Ms. Blake Lively? (Dec. 9, 2025);
• Decision on 557 Requests for Admission in Blake Lively v. Wayfarer Parties/Justin Baldoni (Dec. 3, 2025);
• Another Discovery Decision in Blake Lively v. Wayfarer Parties/Justin Baldoni (Nov. 28, 2025);
• Privilege Log Decision in Blake Lively v. Wayfarer Studios/Justin Baldoni, et al. (Nov. 25, 2025);
• How Much Attention Does a Big Case Deserve? (Nov. 22, 2025).