Blake Lively has been awarded $407,451.75 in attorneys’ fees and costs stemming from Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer parties’ dismissed defamation claim, but the final figure is only about 5% of the more than $8 million she requested.
U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman awarded $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs in an opinion dated Aug. 26. The award covers reasonable work connected to Lively’s successful defense against the defamation claim in Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios’ $400 million lawsuit, rather than every part of the broader litigation.
In his 21-page opinion and order, Liman found the hourly rates charged by Lively’s attorneys reasonable given the complexity and stakes of the case. He reached a very different conclusion about the number of hours submitted for reimbursement, citing work outside the compensable defamation defense, insufficient information about dozens of timekeepers and problems in the billing records.
The result immediately produced competing interpretations. Lively’s attorneys called the award “historic” under the California law that entitled her to recover reasonable fees, while Baldoni’s lawyer emphasized that the court awarded only a small fraction of what she had sought.
The Judge Doubled The New York Times’ $181K Fee Request as a Benchmark
California Civil Code Section 47.1 allows a prevailing defendant to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs after successfully defending certain defamation claims based on communications concerning sexual assault, harassment or discrimination. Lively argued that she should recover fees for work extending across the litigation in which the defamation claim appeared. Liman ruled that her entitlement was narrower and centered on reasonable work connected to defending that claim.
The judge ultimately used a related fee request from The New York Times as his benchmark. The newspaper had sought $181,622.70 for defending a defamation claim arising from the same statements. Liman concluded that Lively reasonably incurred more because her defense included discovery and separate briefing over Section 47.1, then doubled the Times’ figure to reach $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees.
Lively had sought fees for 82 timekeepers across Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Her submission provided biographical information, titles and billing rates for only 11 of them, and Liman denied fees for the remaining timekeepers because he said the court lacked a basis to evaluate their charges. The submission also relied on an expert declaration and billing spreadsheets rather than the underlying invoices.
The court identified other problems with the records, including vague or partially redacted entries that made it difficult to determine whether particular work related to the compensable defamation defense. Liman also excluded media-relations work, clerical or administrative tasks billed at attorney rates and some travel entries that were not tied to an identified necessary proceeding.
On costs, Lively had requested $539,514.01. Liman excluded a $173,276.50 expert report assessing the impact of the Wayfarer action on her reputation and $134,519.65 in legal-research charges, among other expenses. He ultimately allowed $11,721.86 in qualifying travel, $154.80 in transcript filing fees and $32,329.69 representing a portion of discovery-service expenses, for a total cost award of $44,206.35.
Lively’s Lawyers Call the Award ‘Historic’ as Baldoni’s Team Claims Victory
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In a statement to PEOPLE, Lively’s attorneys Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb described the decision as the first award of attorneys’ fees and costs under Section 47.1 and called it “historic.” They said Lively’s case had been about accountability rather than money and argued that the ruling established consequences for retaliatory lawsuits.
Baldoni attorney Bryan Freedman focused instead on how much of Lively’s request went unpaid. In a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times, he called the ruling a “significant victory” for his clients and argued that a courtroom should not be used for personal gain.
Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, had addressed the wider legal fight in a July 8 Instagram video, weeks before Liman fixed the fee amount. They described the experience as traumatic and said gratitude had helped them move forward, while Emily also referred to the “injustice and the pain” they believed their family had experienced.
The May Settlement Left the Fee Question Open
Lively began the dispute in December 2024 by accusing Baldoni and other Wayfarer parties of sexual harassment and retaliation connected to the production and marketing of It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied her allegations and maintained that Lively’s claims were part of an effort to take creative control of the film.
Baldoni, Wayfarer and their co-plaintiffs responded in January 2025 with a $400 million action against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and others. Liman dismissed the defamation, civil extortion and related claims in June 2025 while permitting the Wayfarer parties to amend two narrower contract-related claims. They did not file another amended complaint.
In April 2026, Liman dismissed 10 of the 13 claims remaining in Lively’s own lawsuit, including her sexual harassment and defamation claims, while allowing retaliation and contract-related claims to continue. The parties settled the remaining dispute in May without either side receiving financial compensation, avoiding a scheduled federal trial.