Justin Baldoni Fights Ryan Reynolds’ Exit From $400 Million Lawsuit, Calls Him ‘Co-Conspirator’
Justin’s legal team has pushed back against the Deadpool actor’s attempt to dismiss the ongoing lawsuit, arguing that he should remain involved.
It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been embroiled in a nasty legal battle since December last year when the actress accused the latter of sexual harassment. The 41-year-old actor-director denied the allegations and responded with a massive $400 million lawsuit against Blake, her husband and her publicist. In a recent update regarding the case, Blake’s actor-husband, Ryan Reynolds, asked a judge to drop him as a defendant in the lawsuit. He claimed that Justin’s argument against him has no legal bounds and amounts to “hurt feelings."
The legal battle is now heating up as the Jane the Virgin actor’s legal team has pushed back against the Deadpool actor’s attempt to dismiss the ongoing lawsuit, arguing that he should remain involved. According to the court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, April 3, the actor-director’s team argued that Ryan “pretends that the Wayfarer Parties’ First Amended Complaint (the ‘FAC’) fails to set forth any basis for his liability and that he merely acted as a supportive spouse. Not so."
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Justin’s legal team maintained that Ryan was directly involved in the case and alleged that he should be held responsible as a “co-conspirator." They also argued that if the actor’s motion to dismiss him from the case is approved, then he should not be entitled to recover attorneys’ fees.
Meanwhile, in a statement shared to the aforementioned media outlet, by Ryan Reynold’s side, a spokesperson said, “The main takeaway from the Wayfarer Parties’ opposition to Ryan’s motion to dismiss their case is that they finally realise the plain defects in their complaint. They once again claim defamation without alleging who was defamed, what specifically was said, or how anyone suffered actual harm."
The person further talked about the Deadpool star’s involvement in the matter, stating that, unlike Justin, Ryan actually listens to his wife and “he will continue to support his wife as she stands up to the individuals who not only harassed her but then have retaliated against her."
After the filing, Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, released a statement to the same media outlet, firing back at the Hollywood power couple. He mentioned that Blake and her “circle of Hollywood elites" cannot stop his “clients from exercising their constitutional right to petition the court to clear their names from her false and harmful claims."
He continued, “What Ms. Lively is attempting to do is to set a dangerous precedent by barring the courthouse doors to my clients and punishing them for having their day in court, a right protected by the First Amendment. This right protects not only Mr. Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties in this particular case but all Americans in the future who have false accusations levied against them and seek relief from our justice system."
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