Judge awards Blake Lively $400,000 in legal fees after defamation dispute with Justin Baldoni

A New York judge on Wednesday awarded actress Blake Lively about $400,000 in attorneys’ fees and court costs stemming from her legal battle with co-star Justin Baldoni. The ruling granted Lively $363,000 in fees and $44,000 in costs, finding that she was entitled only to "reasonable" expenses incurred while defending against Baldoni’s defamation suit.

Lively and Baldoni had settled their 18-month dispute in May, avoiding a scheduled federal trial. The settlement left only Lively’s request for reimbursement of legal fees, which she had sought at $7.5 million plus $540,000 in costs. Judge Lewis Liman determined that while the billing rates were not unreasonable, the number of hours claimed was excessive.

The case originated after Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department in December 2024, alleging that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios conducted an online campaign against her in retaliation for her reports of sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends With Us." Baldoni responded with a defamation lawsuit accusing Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of fabricating allegations to gain creative control of the film. A separate suit against The New York Times was dismissed, with the court citing litigation privilege and fair reporting.

Lively had also sought treble and punitive damages under a 2023 California law intended to deter frivolous defamation suits, but the judge ruled those damages were not available under federal law.