A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to pay Blake Lively $407,000 in attorneys’ fees and court costs following the dismissal of Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit against her.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman capped a long-running legal dispute over the book and film adaptation It Ends With Us. Baldoni had filed the defamation claim in response to Lively’s public statements about their professional relationship and the project’s production.
Judge awards $363,000 in attorneys’ fees and $44,000 in costs
Liman’s decision awarded Lively $363,000 in attorneys’ fees and $44,000 in court costs, totaling $407,000. The judge found that while Lively’s legal team’s billing rates were reasonable given the case’s complexity, the number of hours billed was excessive.
Lively had initially sought $7.5 million in attorneys’ fees and $540,000 in costs, but Liman ruled that only work directly tied to defending against the defamation claim was recoverable under California Civil Code Section 47.1. This law protects individuals who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory defamation claims.
Case background and legal implications
The dispute began after Lively publicly criticized Baldoni’s handling of It Ends With Us, alleging mismanagement and unprofessional behavior during production. Baldoni filed a defamation lawsuit in 2023, which was dismissed in June 2024. Liman ruled at the time that Lively’s statements were protected under anti-SLAPP laws, which shield individuals from retaliatory lawsuits intended to silence free speech.
Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, called the fee award “historic,” noting it was the first time a court had enforced Section 47.1 in this context. They stated in a release that the case was “never about money” but about accountability.
Wayfarer Studios and Baldoni have not publicly commented on the ruling. The case is now considered closed, as Liman’s decision resolves the remaining financial dispute stemming from the dismissed lawsuit.