Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively may be among Hollywood’s most recognizable power couples, but they are also facing renewed legal scrutiny.
As Lively’s lengthy dispute with Justin Baldoni over her sexual harassment allegations appears to be nearing its conclusion, Reynolds is now at the center of a separate court battle.
The 49-year-old actor has been named in a $5 million civil lawsuit filed by two New York women who say they were injured in an early-morning crash involving a Tesla linked to the Deadpool star in Manhattan.
According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Kawanna Coleman, 54, and Taji Kelly, 53, both of the Bronx, claim they suffered serious injuries in the March 2024 collision.
The filings say the women were passengers in a Toyota van operated by Access-A-Ride, a paratransit service for people with disabilities, when the vehicle rear-ended Reynolds’ Tesla. The Tesla was allegedly being driven at the time by one of the actor’s employees.
Reynolds was not inside the vehicle during the crash, which took place in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood, according to the report.
The women, who filed separate suits over the wreck, are also suing Access-A-Ride and the van’s driver, Nasriddinov Nodirjon.
In a possible attempt to keep the star’s name out of the litigation, Reynolds isn’t named as a defendant – despite him being the registered owner of the Tesla and his name appearing on the insurance documents.
Ryan Reynolds is currently embroiled in a $5 million civil case brought by two New York women who say they were involved in an early-morning accident with the Deadpool star’s Tesla in Manhattan.
Kawanna Coleman, 54, and Taji Kelly, 53, who both live in the Bronx, were seriously injured in the March 2024 while riding in a Toyota van operated by Access-A-Ride. Pictured above is the damaged car they were in at the time
Instead, the lawsuit has been slapped against his company, which he used to purchase his $5.7M New York home.
The saga dates back to March 2, 2024 when Reynolds’s then-brand new Tesla, which was allegedly being driven by employee Olivia Felipe, changed lanes in front of the Access-A-Ride and then ‘abruptly stopped’ at the lights in Downtown Manhattan, the filings charge.
Due to wet roads and rainy conditions, the Access-A-Ride driver allegedly wasn’t able to react in time and rear-ended the Tesla, court documents state.
Photos from the scene showed the Tesla riddled with scratches and a large dent at the rear. The Toyota’s front grille, meanwhile, came off and the hood was bent out of shape.
The suits accuse both drivers of ‘negligence, carelessness and recklessness’.
Kelly was left with ‘severe and permanent personal injuries’ as a result of the wreck, according to her lawsuit.
Coleman, meanwhile, suffered ‘injuries to various parts of her head, body, limbs and nervous system,’ which resulted in her being hospitalized and confined to a bed, her suit states.
The actor’s company – 2382 Walker Holdings LLC – has hired top Big Apple law firm Wade Clark Mulcahy to fight the dual lawsuits.
The Toyota vehicle rear-ended the star’s Tesla (above), which was being driven by one of his employees at the time, according to court documents
In a possible attempt to keep the star’s name out of the litigation, Reynolds isn’t named as a defendant – despite him being the registered owner of the Tesla and his name appearing on the insurance documents
Photos from the scene showed the Tesla riddled with scratches and a large dent at the rear, while the Toyota’s front grille came off and the hood was bent out of shape
They claim that Kelly and Coleman were both injured because they weren’t wearing seatbelts.
The lawsuit also names the New York Transit Authority and the MTA as defendants but both agencies are seeking to remove themselves, claiming neither the Toyota nor its driver are officially registered with the Access-A-Ride program.
Reynolds formed 2382 Walker Holdings in October 2012 for the purchase of the $5.7 million digs he shares with Lively in Pound Ridge, 50 miles north of New York.
Despite the suits from Kelly and Coleman being filed separately in New York Supreme Court, a judge has linked the two and set a status conference hearing for September 10.
Both of the women involved in the suits declined to comment on the pending litigation when contacted at their Bronx apartment. Their lawyers would also not comment.
Just as Blake Lively’s marathon fight with Justin Baldoni over her allegations of sexual harassment seems to be winding down, it is now Ryan Reynolds’s turn
The looming legal fight comes just weeks after Reynolds’ wife, Blake Lively, settled her explosive lawsuit with her It Ends with Us co-star, Justin Baldoni before going to trial
The Daily Mail reached out to Reynolds’s representative.
The looming legal debacle comes just weeks after Reynolds’s wife settled her explosive lawsuit with her It Ends with Us co-star, Baldoni, before going to trial.
Lively had claimed that Baldoni had led a campaign to smear her reputation after she accused him of sexually harassing her on the set of their 2024 film.
Baldoni, who directed the dark romantic drama and starred in it with Lively, denied harassing her or orchestrating a smear campaign.
He later slapped Lively and Reynolds with a countersuit, accusing them of defamation and extortion, which the judge dismissed.
