Overview

• On August 4, Lively’s lawyers filed a motion urging Judge Lewis J. Liman to strike the 292-page rough draft of her July 31 deposition transcript, saying Baldoni’s team uploaded it under seal without legal justification.
• The filing accuses Bryan Freedman and defendants’ counsel of leaking selective deposition details to TMZ and the Daily Mail to craft a misleading “face-to-face showdown” narrative.
• In the same week, Lively’s attorneys moved for sanctions against Freedman, alleging his media campaign violates New York’s professional conduct rules and taints the jury pool.
• Judge Liman denied Lively’s subpoena for Baldoni’s firm’s communications with content creators and press outlets, citing attorney-client privilege and suggesting other discovery avenues.
• Both sides are intensifying discovery battles over confidentiality and PR tactics as they prepare for a March 2026 federal trial in the Southern District of New York.