Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle doesn’t look likely to end any time soon.
A little more than five weeks have passed since Lively, 37, initially filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging Baldoni, 41, her It Ends With Us costar and director, sexually harassed her on set and then retaliated with a smear campaign after she spoke up.
Since then, Baldoni has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, which first published Lively’s allegations; Lively filed a formal lawsuit against Baldoni, two colleagues at his production company Wayfarer as well as his publicists; and Baldoni sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist, claiming that Lively was the one to smear him and that she plotted to take control of the film and its promotion.
As Lively and Baldoni’s legal teams prepare for a Feb. 12 pretrial court date stemming from their lawsuits, PEOPLE spoke with legal expert Gregory Doll — a lawyer and partner at Doll Amir & Eley in Los Angeles who is not representing either party — to answer some burning questions.
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Could a trial be televised?
Not likely, since their legal battle is unfolding in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, a federal court. “By filing in federal court, they foreclosed the possibility that there will be any cameras in the proceedings,” says Doll, pointing to strict rules largely prohibiting recording devices.
According to uscourts.gov, “Judicial Conference policy does not allow either civil or criminal courtroom proceedings in the district courts to be broadcast, televised, recorded, or photographed for the purpose of public dissemination.” Some pilot programs have allowed cameras in federal courts, but they are rare.
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When is the earliest a trial would happen?
Doll doesn’t foresee a trial until 2026. “I would put 90% odds you’re not going to see anything in 2025,” says Doll, who anticipates a complicated and lengthy discovery phase (i.e. when parties exchange evidence and information related to the case).
More information will likely come out at the Feb. 12 pretrial conference date — set by Lewis Liman, the judge overseeing the case — where both sides will hash out details of the case, including how many witnesses each side expects to depose and the timeline and length of the potential trial.
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Will Justin and Blake come face-to-face at the next court date?
Lively and Baldoni won’t necessarily have to see each other on Feb. 12, avoiding a potentially awkward or emotional encounter. “Typically the parties themselves — meaning Blake Lively and Baldoni — would not need to show up in person at those, but the lawyers need to show up,” explains Doll.
Will Justin and Blake even go to trial?
Right now, both sides seem full steam ahead, but Doll expects a settlement to happen before they head to a trial. “Ninety-two percent of all civil cases settle so odds are overwhelmingly that the case will settle,” says Doll. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s 2022 defamation trial was the “rare exception,” he notes.
With Baldoni and Lively, Ball says that there is a chance there’s “enough emotion on both sides and enough concern by the parties to actually publicly litigate their grievances.”
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