A former friend of Will Smith says in new court papers that he does not intend to make public any part of his examination of Jada Pinkett Smith during her upcoming deposition in his lawsuit.
Bilaal Salaam, representing himself, filed court papers on Monday in response to those brought earlier by Pinkett-Smith’s lawyers, who want a judge issue a standard protective order in her upcoming video deposition by Will Smith’s former friend, saying it will sufficiently stop any public distribution of confidential portions what the actress and talk show host says.
The suit is related to Salaam’s allegations that Pinkett-Smith was upset that Salaam refused to do some crisis management following the 94th Academy Awards incident when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage. Salaam further alleges that he received threats after Pinkett Smith learned that he planned to publish a memoir talking about her personal business.
Salaam says he agrees with Pinkett Smith that there should be a “protective order” regarding her deposition, but that he only wants limited clarifying language.
“Defendant repeatedly asserts that plaintiff `almost certainly intends’ to provide defendant’s future deposition testimony or video to the media,” Salaam says in his pleadings. “That assertion is unsupported by competent evidence.”
Pinkett Smith has offered no sworn declaration, witness testimony, documented evidence, prior court finding, no example of Salaam violating any protective order and no evidence that he has ever improperly disclosed confidential discovery, according to Salaam’s court papers.
“Instead, defendant asks the court to impose additional restrictions based solely upon speculation concerning hypothetical future conduct,” Salaam further states in his court papers.
Salaam says the “limited clarifying language” he seeks is that the protective order governs confidential discovery produced in the current lawsuit and not testimony, exhibits or court records from prior public judicial proceedings
Salaam contends that the 54-year-old Pinkett Smith’s testimony is essential as he gathers discovery in a legal battle in which he is representing himself. But in court papers filed Tuesday with Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Eric Harmon, Pinkett Smith’s lawyers argue that Salaam’s proposed revisions in the court’s regular deposition protective order are unwarranted.
“The standard Los Angeles County protective order provides the procedures necessary to designate confidential deposition testimony, challenge those designations if appropriate and ensure confidential discovery materials are used only for purposes of this litigation,” the actress’ attorneys write in their court papers.
Nonetheless, Salaam is asking Harmon to replace the standard protective order with a significantly pared version that removes many of the necessary protections to govern confidential discovery material, arguing that the revised version is necessary to preserve his ability to discuss information he already possesses or is contained in the public record and still other information he may wish to report to law enforcement, according to the Pinkett Smith lawyers’ pleadings.
But the standard protective order already accomplishes those objectives and Salaam identifies no deficiency in the standard order and so there are reasons to eliminate the protections it provides, the Pinkett Smith attorneys further argue in their court papers.
Pinkett-Smith’s attorneys say the deposition should be limited to a maximum two hours.
Salaam filed the lawsuit last Nov. 7 and it was pared through a judge’s partial granting of Pinkett Smith’s anti-SLAPP motion on April 13. The surviving claims concern Pinkett Smith’s alleged threats, coercion and intimidation of Salaam through intermediaries.