Overview
- Justin Baldoni asked the judge to block testimony from Jenny Slate and author Colleen Hoover, saying their accounts are irrelevant to the remaining issues.
- Baldoni’s team, in a Thursday court letter reported by People, said he will testify in person along with producer Jamey Heath and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan.
- The same filing said financier Steve Sarowitz and publicist Jennifer Abel would appear by deposition rather than live testimony.
- U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman on April 2 dismissed 10 of Blake Lively’s 13 claims, leaving breach of contract plus two retaliation-related claims for a May 18 federal jury trial in New York.
- Pretrial battles continue over witness and exhibit scope, with Baldoni’s lawyers saying Lively listed 41 witnesses and about 1,000 exhibits as both sides prepare to argue over alleged smear tactics versus lawful PR.