Justin Baldoni.
Darla Khazei/INSTARimagesBefore representing Justin Baldoni in his ongoing legal battle with Blake Livelylawyer Bryan Freedman found himself embroiled in a separate case involving the actor.
According to recently surfaced court documents viewed by Us every weekFreedman previously represented a person with cystic fibrosis who sued Baldoni, 40, for alleged copyright infringement and breach of contract.
Freedman’s client, Travis Floressued Baldoni and other defendants in September 2021, claiming the actor’s 2019 directorial debut, Five feet apartripped off Flores’ own heartbreaking romance storyline titled Distance of three feet.
“Flores hid his script from Baldoni both because Flores had a policy of keeping his work confidential and because Baldoni was working on a feature film project that Flores considered competitive,” court documents state. “However, unbeknownst to Flores, Baldoni already had another source to provide him with information about Distance of three feet. It turned out that Baldoni’s film, called Five feet apart – would copy many elements of Distance of three feet.”
UPDATE 1/16/25 at 12:43 p.m. ET: Justin Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios has filed a $400 million lawsuit against his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively, and his publicist, Leslie Sloane, on Thursday January 16. In the 179-page filing obtained by Us Weekly, Baldoni claimed that Lively was “determined” to make him a “real villain in her story.” (…)
In March 2022, Bloomberg Law reported that a copyright infringement lawsuit regarding Five feet apart was dismissed by a federal court in Los Angeles.
Us every week has contacted Freedman for comment.
Five feet apartwith Haley Lu Richardson And Cole Sprouseexplores a love story and the real pain and struggle of living with cystic fibrosis.
The 2019 film, which would have earned $92 million on a $7 million budget, was dedicated to the YouTuber Claire Winelandanother person with cystic fibrosis who left Baldoni inspired.
“I hired her as a consultant and she unfortunately passed away right before I could show her my director,” Baldoni said. The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. “It’s something I’m still dealing with.”
More than five years later Five feet apart was released, Baldoni now finds himself in another legal situation with one of his It ends with us costars.
In December 2024, the New York Times announced the news that Lively continued Baldoni for sexual harassment and for allegedly launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her in order to “destroy” her reputation.
Baldoni has denied the allegations via Freedman, who called Lively’s accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” in a statement to We last month.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s reported breakup made headlines months before the It Ends With Us costars filed lawsuits. While Lively and Baldoni were promoting the film in August 2024, rumors began to circulate regarding an alleged feud between the two men. Fans noticed that Lively was promoting the film with some of her costars while Baldoni, who (…)
THE Joan the Virgin the actor has since sued THE New York Times for defamation and invasion of privacy in a false light. (A New York Times The spokesperson stood by the story, saying it was “reported meticulously and responsibly.” “)
Baldoni and his legal team also sued Lively for 400 million dollars in damages and accused the actress to be “determined to make Baldoni the real villain of his story”.
The Lively team responded to the lawsuitstating: “This does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail. » The actress denied all of Baldoni’s allegations.