In the legal dispute between actors Blake Lively (38) and Justin Baldoni (42), a U.S. court ruled on Friday on the last outstanding issue: Lively can recover her legal fees from Baldoni, but she will not receive damages for the defamation lawsuit he filed against her. This is according to the decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, which several U.S. media outlets reported on.
The background is a settlement that both sides reached last month. In it, Baldoni waived his right to appeal the dismissal of his $400 million lawsuit against Lively from the previous year. This cleared the way for the actress to recover her legal costs and seek damages under a California law.
A Law with Narrow Limits
That law, which took effect in 2024, is intended to protect victims of inappropriate behavior and misconduct when they report wrongdoing - provided their allegations have a reasonable basis. Lively had invoked it and demanded not only legal fees but also treble and punitive damages for the harm caused by Baldoni's lawsuit. However, Judge Liman did not grant her these.
Bill Possibly in the Millions
How high the legal fees will be must now be determined by the court. Lively's attorneys are to submit a breakdown of their hourly rates and their workload. Given the prominent composition of her team - led by Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson - the sum could reach a seven-figure amount.
This settles the last legal point of the case. Lively and Baldoni had only reached a settlement at the last minute, thus avoiding a trial over alleged inappropriate behavior on the set of It Ends with Us.
