Judge awards Blake Lively $363,000 in legal fees after dispute with Justin Baldoni
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman granted actress Blake Lively roughly $363,000 in attorney fees and $44,000 in costs, far less than the $8 million she had sought in her lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered that actress Blake Lively receive $363,245.40 in attorney fees and $44,206.35 in costs in her case against director Justin Baldoni. The award is about $7.2 million less than the amount Lively had requested.
The judge noted that the number of hours Lively sought reimbursement for was unreasonable and that time spent on media relations was not compensable, describing the dispute as a "feud between PR firms."
Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, said the decision shows that retaliatory lawsuits can have consequences and emphasized that the case was about accountability rather than money. They also linked the matter to ongoing litigation involving actress Rebel Wilson, suggesting similar patterns of online smear campaigns in the entertainment industry.
The Wilson case, currently before the Los Angeles Superior Court, involves allegations of defamation and claims of a coordinated effort to damage reputations, with both sides citing communications with public-relations firms.
Both legal teams continue to pursue discovery and further arguments as the disputes progress in court.