Taylor Swift will now no longer by deposed by Justin Baldoni’s lawyers in his ongoing legal saga against Blake Lively, a judge has ruled.
Judge Lewis Liman declined a motion submitted by Baldoni’s representation, known as ‘The Wayfarer Parties,’ to extend the timeframe for deposing Swift, as outlined in court documents sourced by Deadline. The Wayfarer Parties had sought to push the deadline ‘to the end of October’ since Swift was unavailable for deposition during the current discovery period, per the court filings.
In his ruling, Judge Liman highlighted that the ‘Wayfarer Parties’ did not adequately show a ‘good cause’ for the requested extension or explain why Swift couldn’t be deposed earlier.
This development follows just hours after Swift’s legal representative, Doug Baldridge from Venable LLP, presented a letter to the court indicating that Swift did not consent to a deposition and would participate only if compelled to provide testimony.
‘The Wayfarer Parties have not adequately demonstrated good cause for their requested extension,’ Judge Liman stated. He noted that the party’s sole justification was their claim that Swift’s existing professional commitments made it impossible for her to be deposed before October 20, 2025.
Judge Liman further remarked, ‘Crucially, the Wayfarer Parties have not provided any information about when they initiated efforts to schedule the deposition. Discovery in this case has been ongoing for about six months. The Wayfarer Parties initially requested Swift’s deposition in May 2025 but then withdrew the subpoena.’
Taylor Swift will now not be deposed by Justin Baldoni’s legal team in his ongoing legal proceedings against Blake Lively as per the judge’s decision; she is pictured in February in Los Angeles.
‘They have offered no evidence that they have served a renewed subpoena on Swift. Thus, at most, the Wayfarer Parties have demonstrated that scheduling the deposition now presents logistical difficulties; that does not answer the question of why the deposition ‘“’could not have been conducted earlier.” Having failed to demonstrate appropriate diligence, the requested extension is denied.’
The judge also granted Lively’s request for an extension in scheduling a deposition with Baldoni and his Wayfarer co-founders, Steve Sarowitz, and Jamey Heath. ‘Because Lively has been “generally diligent” and her request has not resulted from “carelessness, an attorney’s otherwise busy schedule, or a change in litigation strategy,” the request is granted,’ the judge wrote, directing the three parties to be ‘available for depositions within the extended window.’
The latest developments come the same day that Swift’s lawyer submitted a letter in court stating his client ‘did not agree’ to give a deposition and would only take part if she was ‘forced’ to give testimony.
The 35-year-old superstar insist she has ‘no material role’ in the lawsuit between the It Ends With Us stars, according to the letter obtained by Daily Mail.
Baldoni’s attorneys previously filed court documents claiming that singer agreed to give a deposition and shared her availability for the end of October.
The newly engaged star’s legal team claimed they only learned about the deposition just three days ago.
The letter also said that Swift’s camp ‘takes no role in those disputes’ but if legally compelled, she could be available next month to testify.
‘Further, my client did not agree to a deposition, but if she is forced into a deposition, we advised (after first hearing about the deposition just three days ago) that her schedule would accommodate the time required during the week of October 20 if the parties were able to work out their disputes,’ the letter read.
On the other hand, Lively’s team opposed Baldoni’s request to extend the discovery deadline and called it an ‘outrageous,’ media-driven tactic to depose Swift.
The actress’s lawyers wrote in a legal filing: ‘The Wayfarer Defendants have repeatedly sought to bring Ms. Swift into this litigation to fuel their relentless media strategy. Yet … they have not come close to establishing good cause.’
Her attorneys also noted that Baldoni’s team previously drew massive media coverage to their lawsuit when he subpoenaed Swift in May before later going on to just withdraw it ‘to much fanfare.’
Her team urged the judge to reject his request as they argue they have not provided a new subpoena nor a proper explanation as to why they are attempting to drag Swift back into the legal matter again.
Lively’s team also noted that Swift is a non-party to the case and her schedule is ‘presumed to be packed with professional obligations for months in advance.’
A source tells Daily Mail: ‘The letter says it all, Taylor wants to be removed from all the Baldoni and Blake drama at all costs, as this is going to go on for years, and Taylor has no time for it, because she doesn’t feel she has ever been a part of it in the first place.
She will only take part if ‘forced’ to give a testimony in the case involving her ex-best friend, her lawyer Doug Baldridge of Venable LLP stated in a letter submitted to the court on Friday; pictured January 2024 in New York City
‘She has no time to be pissed about it; she is just disappointed that her name is even being brought up with the case, and the quicker she is removed the better.
‘She believes the courts will do the right thing and she will finally be removed from this as soon as possible, it is the only decision that she see fit to happen and needs to happen.”
This comes after it was ruled in June that Baldoni’s legal team could have access to messages between Lively and Swift.
E! News previously reported that judge ruled texts between Lively and Swift are “relevant” to the case.
The 35-year-old superstar insists she has ‘no material role’ in the lawsuit between the It Ends With Us stars, according to the letter; pictured June in New York City
Swift’s legal team claimed that they only learned about the deposition just three days ago. The update comes after the former BFFs reportedly had a falling out as the singer felt unfairly dragged into the legal drama
However, any correspondence between the pair will be under a protective order to stop them being leaked to the press.
Initially, Swift was pulled into the legal drama earlier this year when Baldoni filed his now-dismissed $400 million countersuit against Lively and named the pop star in his documents.
In his countersuit, he said he met up with the actress at her New York City penthouse amid production for the movie but was blindsided when Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds and best friend Swift allegedly showed up to intimidate him.
In his legal documents, he also shared screenshots of text messages, in which Lively seemingly referred to Reynolds and Swift as her ‘dragons’ that ‘protect’ her.
Lively first filed her lawsuit in December 2024, in which she accused Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios team of sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni has since denied all of the allegations.
Amid the legal battle, Swift and Lively reportedly had a falling out as the singer reportedly felt unfairly dragged into the legal drama.
The case, Blake Lively v. Wayfarer Studios LLC, et al, is scheduled to go to trial in March 2026, with all depositions due to be completed by September 30.
