Justin Baldoni accuses Blake Lively of ‘abuse of process’ amid long legal battle

The legal drama between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is heating up again — and let’s just say, this courtroom saga is showing no signs of a happy Hollywood ending anytime soon.

According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, a new lawsuit was filed on September 27, 2024, by a plaintiff named “Vanzan” against some unnamed defendants, according to first reports by Deadline.

“This action arises out of an ongoing campaign to damage Plaintiff’s business and Plaintiff’s reputation,” the court papers claim.

Apparently, the defendants had some contractual and confidentiality obligations — not to mention a good faith and loyalty clause — that they allegedly didn’t quite stick to.

On the other side of the legal lightsaber duel, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman wasn’t shy about calling out the whole thing.

“Ms. Lively’s and Mr. Reynolds’ company Vanzan had nothing to do with this case and they knew it,” Freedman declared in a statement to Us Weekly on April 21.

“This sham lawsuit was designed to obtain subpoena power without oversight or scrutiny, and in doing so denied my clients the ability to contest the propriety, nature and scope of the subpoena.”

Freedman went even further, arguing, “There is nothing normal about this” and that officers of the court “have a duty of candor to the court and an obligation not to file fictitious lawsuits that have no basis in fact or law.”

His final statement? “A party with no connection to these proceedings asserting a breach of contract against another party they claim not to be able to identify does not qualify. This was done in bad faith and constitutes a flagrant abuse of process.”

On the other hand, Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Mike Gottlieb, see it all very differently.

They say this isn’t some shady court move, but actually a very normal (and very legal) way to get answers about the online attacks Lively allegedly faced in the summer of 2024 when It Ends With Us hit the scene.

“There is nothing untoward here — just conscientious and thorough investigation,” Hudson and Gottlieb said in their statement.

“The Lively parties acted upon reliable information, and employed common tools such as Doe lawsuits and civil subpoenas that are entirely lawful and appropriate for pursuing claims and uncovering the identity of unknown perpetrators of unlawful activities.”

According to Lively’s team, the lawsuit turned up some eye-popping evidence.

“The Lively parties unearthed the Wayfarer Parties’ documented plan — in their own words, in their own text messages — to ‘destroy’ Blake Lively, a plan which they executed without transparency, disclosure, or notice to Ms. Lively or the public, instead acting in a way they thought would be ‘untraceable.’”

They insist there’s “absolutely nothing to hide,” noting that Lively even voluntarily disclosed the subpoena early on, knowing it would be handed over during discovery.

This isn’t the first round of fireworks between Lively and Baldoni.

Their legal battles kicked off back in December 2024, after Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her during their work together on It Ends With Us.