Overview
- Wayfarer’s defamation claims against former publicist Stephanie Jones can move forward after a Thursday ruling, raising the chance that private messages involving key figures could be pulled into discovery.
- Judge Lewis J. Liman approved a one‑week extension for pretrial filings and moved the final pretrial conference by a week, with a video conference set for April 2.
- Baldoni and co‑defendants said Lively’s team made an eleventh‑hour “document dump,” citing nearly 1,000 proposed exhibits and more than 40 potential witnesses, while Lively’s lawyers called the delay request a tactic to slow the case.
- The federal jury trial remains scheduled for May 18 in New York, and both Lively and Baldoni are expected to testify if the case reaches a verdict.
- Lively sued in December 2024 alleging sexual harassment and retaliation and seeking more than $160 million, and Baldoni’s separate $400 million countersuit was dismissed last year.