“The gift that keeps on giving”- Perez Hilton reacts to Justin Baldoni suing Insurers of ‘It Ends With Us’ over legal fees in Blake Lively battle 

Another lawsuit has emerged in the ongoing legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. On August 1, Justin Baldoni and the production company of It Ends With Us, Wayfarer, filed a lawsuit against the insurers of the movie to recover legal fees. Baldoni and team filed a suit in California against three insurers: QBE Insurance Group Limited, New York Marine, and certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s.

Pop culture commentator and podcaster Perez Hilton reacted to the news in his August 3 YouTube video. Hilton recalled other lawsuits related to the legal issues stemming from the set of It Ends With Us. The podcaster said:

"Well, now Baldoni and crew are suing several other insurance companies in a lawsuit that was just filed in California. This really is the gift that keeps on giving. Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Baldoni accuses New York Marine, QBE Insurance Group Limited, and certain underwriters at Lloyd's of breach of contract for denying coverage of the lawsuit filed by Riddicula [pointing at Blake Lively's picture]."

Hilton reported that Baldoni and Wayfarer claimed that the insurers' policies had provisions to cover the "lawsuit alleging defamation." He further stated that the insured parties reached out to these insurers following the lawsuit filed by Blake Lively, but the insurers "denied coverage." In the new suit, Justin Baldoni has alleged "breach of contract" against the insurance companies.

"Not only are they seeking money for all the legal bills, but now it seems, if I'm reading this correctly, they want even more. I'm starting to get a little nervous because it seems like this lawsuit was put together pretty quickly. Unless they were already prepping it, expecting this outcome," Hilton said.

The podcaster further added that although in the new complaint, an actual figure wasn't quoted, it could be in "millions." Hilton tried to assess the figure based on one of Justin Baldoni's lawyers' fees. Hilton claimed that he "knows firsthand" that one of Baldoni's attorneys charges over $1200 per hour.

---

More about the lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni against the insurers

The new lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer alleged that the three insurance companies mentioned above are reneging on their duties, which include protecting the insureds from lawsuits. The complaint stated that so far, Wayfarer and the production house have been paying Baldoni's legal fees.

In the suit, it was alleged that Wayfarer informed the insurance companies about the lawsuit filed by Blake Lively in April. However, these companies denied paying legal fees coverage, citing several reasons. The total claim from the three policies is reported to be over $8 million.

As mentioned in the complaint, New York Marine covered “personal and advertising injury,” which the company defined as the injury arising out of "oral and written publication" that "slanders or libels" or violates "right to privacy."

The QBE policy covered the Wayfarer for "those Media Activities that occur during the Policy Period.” The third insurer, Lloyd's policy, provided coverage for “multimedia liability and advertising injury,” along with "professional liability" for any breach of contract.

---

Earlier on July 21, another insurer of the film, Harco National Insurance, filed a lawsuit against Wayfarer and sought a legal order for paying no legal fees incurred by the studio towards a series of lawsuits filed against Justin Baldoni and the production company.

Harco claimed that the parties were not insured when the lawsuit was filed and alleged that the insured parties didn't provide the information regarding Blake Lively's complaints to them.

Edited by Ameen Fatima