Blake Lively Awarded $407,000 in Legal Fees After Defamation Battle with Justin Baldoni

Actress Blake Lively has been awarded approximately $407,000 in attorney fees and court costs following a protracted legal dispute with actor Justin Baldoni. The decision was made by federal judge Lewis Liman in New York, who allocated $363,245 for professional fees and an additional $44,206 for costs.

This awarded amount is significantly less than the initial $8 million Lively had requested. Judge Liman determined that Lively could only recover expenses deemed "reasonable" in defending against Baldoni's defamation lawsuit. While acknowledging that the fees charged by Lively's legal team were not "unreasonable" given the litigation's complexity, the judge found the number of hours claimed for reimbursement to be excessive and noted deficiencies in the submitted documentation, such as the absence of original invoices.

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The verdict is a significant victory for my clients and sends a clear message that no matter how powerful one may be, the court is not a place to take advantage of the law for one's own benefit.

The conflict originated in December 2024 when Blake Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, alleging a digital smear campaign in retaliation for her raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment during the production of the film 'It Ends With Us.' Baldoni responded with a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of fabricating accusations to gain creative control over the movie.

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Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties lost their meritless $400 million retaliatory lawsuit, which two separate courts found was designed to silence Blake Lively and others. This first recognition of fees under this California law is historic.

After approximately 18 months of legal back-and-forth, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement in May, just weeks before the federal trial was set to begin. Neither party received financial compensation in that agreement, leaving only the matter of legal expenses to be resolved.

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, hailed the ruling as a "significant victory" that sends a message against exploiting the legal system. Conversely, Lively's legal representatives, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, framed the decision as a win, emphasizing that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios "lost their meritless $400 million retaliatory lawsuit" and that the recognition of fees under California law is "historic." They asserted that Lively's case was always about accountability, not money.

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Blake Lively's case was never about money, but about accountability.