Blake Lively awarded $407,000 in legal fee dispute with Justin Baldoni

A federal judge has ordered Justin Baldoni to pay actress Blake Lively approximately $407,451 in attorney fees and legal costs. The ruling by Judge Lewis Liman of the New York federal court comes after a long-standing legal dispute between the two actors.

While Lively was awarded $363,245 for professional fees and $44,206 in costs, the amount is significantly lower than the $8 million she initially sought. Judge Liman described the original request as an “outrageously unreasonable demand,” noting that while the legal work was complex, the number of hours requested for reimbursement was unreasonable and lacked sufficient documentation, such as original invoices.

The legal conflict originated in December 2024, when Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department regarding alleged sexual harassment during the production of ‘It Ends with Us’. Baldoni subsequently filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging they fabricated accusations to gain creative control. The parties reached an out-of-court settlement in May, leaving only the dispute over legal expenses to be resolved by the court.