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QBE asked to cover Baldoni defense in Hollywood exclusion-clause fight
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge will hear QBE’s coverage dispute via summary adjudication on November 10.
Insurance Business reports that QBE Insurance Corporation is still facing a coverage fight tied to the high profile Hollywood dispute between actor Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni, even after they reached a truce in May.
Baldoni’s lawyers, in fresh court papers, argue QBE was obligated to fund his defense against Lively’s claims and ask for a decision by summary adjudication rather than a full trial. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James I. Montgomery is scheduled to hear the motion on November 10.
At the center of the dispute is an exclusion clause tied to employment-related coverage. Baldoni’s team says QBE’s only meaningful defense is that Lively was an employee, and that this argument was already rejected in the underlying New York case.
Insurance Business adds that in April a US District Judge in New York dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 claims, finding she worked on the film as an independent contractor rather than an employee. Baldoni’s lawyers say QBE must follow that finding, while QBE argues Lively’s allegations, including harassment, retaliation, defamation, and false light, all stem from her work as the film’s leading lady. The insurance case began in July 2025.