Judge awards Blake Lively $400,000 in legal fees in Justin Baldoni case

Key Points:

• Blake Lively was awarded over $400,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs after an 18-month legal battle with Justin Baldoni, significantly less than the $8 million she initially sought.
• Judge Lewis Liman ruled that Lively was entitled only to "reasonable" fees, finding her lawyers’ billing rates acceptable but the number of hours claimed excessive and documentation incomplete.
• The legal dispute began in December 2024 when Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment on the set of "It Ends With Us," leading to a counter-defamation suit by Baldoni.
• The parties settled their dispute in May 2025 just before trial, with attorneys’ fees and costs being the final issue resolved by the recent ruling.
• Baldoni and his wife publicly expressed their distress over the legal battle, while Lively has remained largely silent, making notable public appearances but reportedly experiencing a fallout with Taylor Swift amid the case.