A New York federal judge has halted discovery in Justin Baldoni’s $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times, for its coverage of Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and smear campaign allegations against her “It Ends With Us” director and co-star.
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the paper’s request for stay of discovery Tuesday, Deadline reports.
“The Wayfarer Parties are unlikely to be unfairly prejudiced by a stay while the Court decides the pending motion,” Liman wrote in reference to the Times’ motion to be dismissed from Baldoni’s $400 million defamation suit, which he amended Jan. 31.
The “Jane the Virgin” alum, 41, sued the 37-year-old “Gossip Girl” star, her husband Ryan Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane for alleged defamation and civil extortion.
Lively in late December filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of “It Ends With Us” as well as a retaliatory smear campaign. The Times detailed the allegations in an article entitled, “We Can Bury Anyone.”
Lively then sued Baldoni on Dec. 31, the same day he formally sued the outlet, which said in its motion to dismiss: “The Times does not belong in this dispute.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Times told Deadline that it “appreciate[s] the court’s decision today, which recognizes the important First Amendment values at stake here.
“The court has stopped Mr. Baldoni from burdening The Times with discovery requests in a case that should never have been brought,” continued the spokesperson.
At present, Baldoni and Lively’s dueling lawsuits are scheduled to head to trial next March.