Full Breakdown
Blake Lively Receives $400,000 Fee Award After Justin Baldoni Lawsuit Dismissed
8/27/2026, 1:09:22 AM
Court Decision and Award
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled that Justin Baldoni’s production company must pay Blake Lively $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs. The judge rejected Lively’s request for reimbursement of media-relations expenses and certain travel costs, finding the number of hours claimed “unreasonable.”
Legal Background and Claims
The award follows Liman’s earlier dismissal of Baldoni’s defamation and extortion suit against Lively, filed last year. Lively had originally sought $8,035,040.88 in fees and costs—$7,495,526.87 for attorneys’ fees and $539,514.01 for other expenses—after accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment during production of the 2024 film *It Ends With Us*. The parties settled their broader dispute in early May, with settlement terms undisclosed and, according to a source, no money exchanged. Baldoni denied the harassment allegations and, in January 2025, filed a countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, claiming the pair attempted to damage his reputation and seize control of the movie. He also sued *The New York Times* over an article about a “Hollywood smear machine.” Both of Baldoni’s suits were dismissed by Liman.
Official Statements & Responses
Lively’s lawyers, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, emphasized that the case was “never about money” but about holding perpetrators accountable and setting a precedent for other victims. Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman framed the limited fee award as a “significant victory” for his client, arguing that the judge rejected an “outrageous and unreasonable” demand.
Data & Statistics
Verbatim Quotes
- “Judge Liman clearly considered the ‘outrageous and unreasonable’ $8 million plus demand and, in rejecting it, awarded only 5 percent of the amount sought in legal fees and costs,” — Bryan Freedman, baldoni attorney
