A federal judge has awarded Blake Lively roughly $400,000 in legal fees after Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against her was dismissed.
District Judge Lewis J. Liman, 63, ruled last week that the money would come from Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios. The decision follows Liman’s earlier dismissal of Baldoni’s defamation and extortion case against Lively, which he brought after she accused him of sexual harassment during the production of “It Ends With Us.”
Lively, 37, had sought $8,035,040.88 total — $7,495,526.87 in legal fees plus $539,514.01 in costs. She was awarded $363,245.40 for legal fees and $44,206.35 for costs. Liman wrote in his ruling that “counsel’s rates were not unreasonable,” but found that “the number of hours for which Lively seeks reimbursement is unreasonable.” He did allow her to claim fees for some travel and for media relations work.
Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, attorneys representing Lively, issued a statement following the ruling. “Blake Lively’s case was never about money — it was about accountability,” they said. “She lifted the curtain for other victims, and set the precedent for others to come forward and expose similar conduct.”
The attorneys continued, “This result demonstrates that the legal system is not as easily manipulated as social media, and still functions as a force for accountability.”
Lively was permitted to seek financial damages under a California “Me Too” law that allows prevailing parties in certain harassment-related cases to recover legal fees.
In the viral moment that launched the years-long dispute, Lively accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment during production of the 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” which he directed. She also claimed Wayfarer Studios retaliated against her after she raised complaints. Baldoni denied all allegations. He then filed a countersuit against both Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, alleging defamation and extortion and accusing them of orchestrating a campaign to damage his reputation. He also claimed Lively had tried to “seize control” of the film by weaponizing her grievances. Additionally, Baldoni filed a defamation suit against the outlet over its coverage of the dispute. Judge Liman dismissed both of Baldoni’s lawsuits.
Baldoni and his wife Emily addressed the public in a video posted to social media after the parties reached their settlement in May. “We have not done this in a while, so we have not spoken publicly for the better part of the last two years and it’s not because we haven’t had anything to say,” Baldoni shared.
“Lord knows we have, but it just felt like every time we went to make a video like this where we wanted to speak, something was telling us not to,” he continued. “It just doesn’t feel like the right time. We were talking about it and feeling into it and praying about it.”
The precise terms of the May settlement between Lively and Baldoni were not made public. Had they not reached an agreement, the case could have proceeded to a high-profile trial in New York.
Baldoni has filed a motion asking Judge Liman to throw out Lively’s remaining case against him.