Blake Lively Wins Court Fee Ruling in Baldoni Fight
Judge allows legal fee recovery but rejects extra damages in the ongoing dispute.
Blake Lively has won another court ruling in her ongoing legal case with actor-director Justin Baldoni. A US federal judge said she can recover legal fees linked to Baldoni's defamation lawsuit, which was previously dismissed. However, the judge did not approve her request for extra financial penalties or damages.
فيديو ذات صلة
This browser does not support the video element.
The ruling is the latest development in the high-profile dispute that started during the production of the 2024 film It Ends With Us. What began as tension between the stars later turned into several lawsuits, countersuits, and months of legal action.
According to The Telegraph, Judge Lewis Liman found that Lively is eligible for attorneys' fees under a California law that protects people who report alleged sexual misconduct from defamation claims filed in retaliation. The court said there was no evidence that Lively acted with malice when making her allegations.
The judge agreed that Lively may ask for legal cost reimbursement, but he rejected her request for treble damages and punitive damages. Court papers show that the legal route used by her team allows recovery of fees and expenses, but not the larger financial penalties she wanted.
The case began in late 2024, when Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation during the production of It Ends With Us. Baldoni denied the claims and filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and others. That case was later dismissed by the court.
Some of Lively's own claims were also dismissed during the case. Earlier this year, a judge threw out most of her claims, including sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni, while allowing a smaller number of claims to move forward. Before the case went to trial, both sides reached a settlement in May 2026, which ended most of the legal fight but left the issue of legal costs unresolved.
After the ruling, both sides said the decision supported their position. Lively's legal team said the court made it clear that she brought her claims "in good faith" and that there was "no evidence" she acted with malice. They also said the decision gives survivors a way to fight back against online attacks and lawsuits used to silence them.
Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman pointed to the court's rejection of Lively's damages request, saying his team had "fought and won" against allegations that he says "never happened." He also said most of Lively's claims were dismissed and argued that the case showed there was "no sexual harassment, no retaliation, and no smear campaign."
The final amount Baldoni may have to pay in legal fees is still not decided. The court is expected to review billing records and other submissions from both sides before setting the amount later.
AI contributed to the creation of this article.