Story perspectives

Settle $700M lawsuits, no payment, Lively attends Met Gala

5/9/2026

Summary

Lively Settles Lawsuit

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled on May 8, 2026, two weeks before the May 18 trial, with a confidential agreement that required no payment.
The parties spent about $60 million on legal fees, with judges having already dismissed Lively’s $300 million claim and Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit, ending the lawsuits.
Hours later Blake Lively attended the 2026 Met Gala, prompting analysts to say both careers remain vulnerable.

Summary

Lively Files Motion

Blake Lively’s lawyers will file a motion under a California law that triples damages for fraudulent defamation.
Judge Lewis J. Liman will rule on the motion, with the settlement preventing any appeal of his decision.
The motion targets the dismissed $400 million defamation countersuit filed by Justin Baldoni.
The case could become a landmark test of California’s anti-SLAPP statute, influencing future entertainment defamation disputes.

Summary

Lively Retains Motion

Settlement notice shows Blake Lively retained a pending motion under California Civil Code Section 47.1.
Attorneys for Lively and for Justin Baldoni called the May 4 settlement a “victory.”
New York attorney Richard Schoenstein called the mutual claims preposterous because neither side kept its original claims.
Bryan Freedman downplayed Lively’s fee request as a narrow issue pending since September 2025.
Entertainment attorney Tre Lovell warned the fee claim could reach seven figures or more.

History

Historical Context

In 1992 Governor Pete Wilson signed California’s anti-SLAPP statute (Gov. Code §425.16), the first of today’s 33 states, D.C., and Guam with such protections. By 2020 the law had been invoked in over 1,200 motions. Now actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni rely on that precedent, filing a motion before Judge Lewis J. Liman to triple damages in a defamation case.

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Lively Settles Lawsuit

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled on May 8, 2026, two weeks before the May 18 trial, with a confidential agreement that required no payment.
The parties spent about $60 million on legal fees, with judges having already dismissed Lively’s $300 million claim and Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit, ending the lawsuits.
Hours later Blake Lively attended the 2026 Met Gala, prompting analysts to say both careers remain vulnerable.

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