In the legal dispute between Justin Baldoni (42) and Blake Lively (38), a significant amount of money is once again at stake. The actor and his production company Wayfarer Studios have asked a court to reject or significantly reduce Lively's demand for more than eight million dollars in attorney and litigation costs. This is according to a filing from Monday (July 13) that is available to publications including "People" magazine.
Baldoni's attorneys call the motion "anything but a typical fee application" and accuse Lively's representatives of "excessive" hourly rates. The demand consists of approximately 7.5 million dollars in attorney fees and over 539,500 dollars in additional costs.
Allegation of Overstaffing
A central argument in the filing: The case was inflated with personnel. Multiple attorneys appeared at the same hearings, there were too many internal conferences, and 82 timekeepers recorded a total of 7,070.2 billable hours. This corresponds to approximately twenty times what courts have previously approved in comparable defamation cases.
"Even a cursory review of Lively's filing shows that multiple attorneys were present at the same hearings, that numerous charges were made because attorneys consulted, advised, or developed strategies with one another, and that, to put it mildly, extremely extensive research and online investigations were conducted", US media quote from the brief.
As a benchmark, Baldoni's attorneys cite a similar motion by the "New York Times". The newspaper claimed only 181,622.70 dollars in attorney fees after the dismissal of the same defamation lawsuit. Baldoni had sued the "Times" for 250 million dollars in 2024 for reporting that he and his PR team had conducted a "smear campaign" against Lively. This lawsuit was later dismissed.
How the Demand Came About
Lively's cost demand goes back to a decision by Judge Lewis J. Liman. After Baldoni's defamation-related claims against the actress were dismissed, the court granted her the right in June to claim costs under Section 47.1 of the California Civil Code.
The dispute was sparked by the production and marketing of the film "It Ends With Us". Lively had sued Baldoni in December 2024, whereupon he countersued her and her husband Ryan Reynolds (49) for 400 million dollars. Judge Liman dismissed this countersuit in June 2025. The parties settled the broader legal dispute in May. The only question that remained open was whether and to what extent Baldoni must pay for Lively's costs.
