Blake Lively awarded fraction of $8M legal fees in Justin Baldoni case
- A Manhattan judge ruled that Blake Lively is entitled to roughly $400,000 of the $8 million in legal fees she sought from Justin Baldoni following their legal battle over the film It Ends With Us.
- Judge Lewis J. Liman awarded Lively $363,245 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206 in costs, explaining that California law only covered expenses for defending against defamation claims.
- The ruling follows an early May settlement between Lively and Baldoni, ending a dispute where Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and Baldoni alleged Lively attempted to seize creative control.
- Baldoni and his production company had filed counterclaims, including defamation and civil extortion, against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which were previously dismissed.
- Liman had also rejected Lively’s sexual harassment claims prior to the settlement on the grounds that she worked on the film as an independent contractor rather than an employee.
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