Expanded Protective Orders Granted in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Legal Dispute

The judge presiding over the legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni granted much of Lively’s request for an expanded protective order, aiming to prevent the public disclosure of certain information, such as medical records and trade secrets related to future business ventures.
On Thursday, the judge ruled that the court’s standard protective order was insufficient for the needs of Lively and Baldoni’s case, citing its high-profile and sensitive nature.
“These cases involve both business competitors and allegations of sexual harm,” the judge wrote, adding that discovery would reveal “confidential and sensitive business and personal information” and that “the risk of disclosure is great.”
Last month, Lively requested a heightened confidentiality agreement to add more protections against information leaks to the press. Lively’s attorneys also cited privacy concerns regarding other high-profile third parties involved in the case in their February request to the judge.
“Several individuals and corporations on each side are in the business of public relations or media and have easy access to the press. The details of this case have been closely followed in the media, and each side has accused the other of litigating this case via the media,” the judge’s ruling added. “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 also stated that medical information, security information, and trade secret information related to business and marketing plans for future projects would be designated “attorneys’ eyes only,” meaning it would be protected information.
However, acknowledging the nature of a sexual harassment case, the judge recognized the difficulty in protecting certain highly “personal and intimate information about third parties.”
In a statement to CNN, Lively’s attorneys said the judge “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.”
In a previous filing, Lively’s attorneys stated that since she filed