Overview
- Jed Wallace filed court papers in Texas asking a judge to force Blake Lively to sit for a deposition limited to her request for roughly $800,000 in attorneys' fees and related damages.
- Wallace says the questioning must focus on whether Lively knew her statements were false or acted with malice or reckless disregard, because that subjective intent could defeat her fee recovery.
- Wallace previously sued Lively for defamation but that case was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction, and Lively later moved to recover her legal fees from him.
- Lively's lawyers counter that Wallace already deposed her, called his new filing meritless, and say the motion is a repeated tactic after his suit was dismissed; Wallace's filings say Lively missed a scheduled deposition and that the notice was valid.
- How the court rules could affect who may be questioned about subjective intent in fee motions, what billing entries courts allow, and whether defendants can use depositions to block or reduce post-dismissal fee awards.