Blake Lively Awarded $400k in Legal Fees From Justin Baldoni After Demanding $8M
- The payout represents a tiny fraction of the $8 million Lively originally sought to recoup for defending herself against a defamation lawsuit.
- Following the dismissal of the defamation claim, Lively argued she was entitled to $7,495,526.87 in attorneys' fees and $539,514.01 in other costs accumulated over 10 months of litigation.
- Baldoni's attorneys previously rejected Lively's multi-million-dollar demands, describing them in court filings as deeply flawed.
The payout represents a tiny fraction of the $8 million Lively originally sought to recoup for defending herself against a defamation lawsuit. Lively initially sued Baldoni, her co-star and director on the domestic violence drama, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni subsequently filed a countersuit for defamation seeking $400 million, which Judge Lewis Liman dismissed in 2025.
Court Rulings on Unreasonable Hours and Expenses
Following the dismissal of the defamation claim, Lively argued she was entitled to $7,495,526.87 in attorneys’ fees and $539,514.01 in other costs accumulated over 10 months of litigation. However, Judge Liman awarded her a total of $407,451.75, which breaks down to $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs, according to the Daily Mail. Judge Liman stated in his 21-page ruling that the number of hours Lively billed for her legal team was unreasonable. The judge noted that Lively took a blunderbuss approach to calculating her lawyers’ hours and requested money for more people and time than necessary to defend the defamation claim. Furthermore, the court found she improperly sought funds for intertwined costs related to the wider legal battle and for vaguely described internal communications. The judge also rejected Lively’s demand to recover expenses for her public relations team. According to the Daily Mail, Judge Liman ruled that media relations were not integral to defending the specific defamation claim brought against the actress.
Legal Teams Respond to the Historic Fee Award
Baldoni’s attorneys previously rejected Lively’s multi-million-dollar demands, describing them in court filings as deeply flawed. While Judge Liman noted that the hourly rates charged by attorneys for both parties were not unreasonable given the substantial financial and reputational risks involved, he agreed that Baldoni’s lawyers correctly identified a series of flaws and discrepancies in the fee schedules. Following the Wednesday order, Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, released a statement emphasizing the significance of the ruling under California law.
Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties lost their meritless retaliatory $400 million lawsuit, which two different courts held was designed to stifle public criticism and silence Blake Lively and others.
Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb The lawyers added that the decision marks a historic first-ever award of fees and costs under the state statute, demonstrating real consequences for bringing retaliatory lawsuits. The broader litigation follows a film release that grossed $148 million domestically and $350 million globally, though its commercial success was heavily overshadowed by off-screen disputes between the lead actors.