A little over two weeks ago, a US court ruled in favor of Blake Lively (38) that Justin Baldoni (42) and Wayfarer Studios must cover the actress's legal fees. Now US media outlets are reporting how high the bill for the director and actor could be. Lively is demanding a total of approximately eight million US dollars from her "It Ends with Us" co-star, as reported by the trade publication "Deadline" and "People" magazine, citing court documents on file.
Lively is asking the court to award her legal fees in the amount of 7,495,526.87 US dollars as well as additional costs in the amount of 539,514.01 US dollars, according to a filing. Baldoni's side now has until July 13 to agree to payment of the corresponding amount or to contest the claim. After the deadline expires, the presiding judge will decide whether the approximately eight million dollars will be paid out in full or only in part.
What the dispute between Baldoni and Lively was about
During the filming of the movie "It Ends with Us," in which both appeared on camera and for which Baldoni also directed, Lively alleges that inappropriate workplace conduct occurred. After that, according to the actress, there was a targeted reputation-damaging campaign by her co-star. Baldoni, for his part, sued for 400 million US dollars in damages, but the lawsuit was dismissed.
The background for the decision regarding the reimbursement of legal fees was a previously concluded settlement. After a long public dispute between Baldoni and Lively, an out-of-court settlement was surprisingly reached in May. Baldoni had disputed the allegations against him; in April, a judge had dismissed ten of 13 claims from Lively's lawsuit, including the allegations of inappropriate workplace conduct. The settlement came as a surprise because Lively had announced that she wanted to continue the fight in court nonetheless.
In the legal dispute, the court's decision regarding the reimbursement of legal fees resolved the last outstanding point at that time. According to US media, it was determined that Lively can have her legal fees reimbursed, but she does not have any claims for damages in this decision.
