NEW YORK — A federal judge has determined that Blake Lively may collect attorney fees from actor-director Justin Baldoni following their contentious legal battle over the 2024 movie “It Ends With Us,” though she won’t receive additional monetary damages she had requested.
In a written decision issued Friday, Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled that Lively has the right to recover attorney fees and expenses tied to defending herself against Baldoni’s countersuit, which he filed after she brought legal action against him in December 2024.
Liman referenced a California statute crafted to shield sexual harassment and discrimination survivors from vengeful litigation intended to frighten and silence those who report assault or harassment.
According to the judge’s ruling, this statute mandates that plaintiffs cover defendants’ legal expenses when defamation claims filed in response to lawsuits are thrown out, regardless of whether case facts have been fully explored through evidence collection.
The judge noted that Baldoni and his film company, Wayfarer Studios LLC, would need to demonstrate that Lively sued with malicious intent to avoid paying her legal costs. Liman determined that Baldoni and Wayfarer presented insufficient evidence supporting this argument and failed to establish malicious conduct on Lively’s part.
While the court didn’t specify how legal fees would be calculated, Liman denied Lively’s requests for tripled damages and punitive awards under California law, stating these didn’t align with “carefully crafted federal procedural rules designed to protect the rights of the parties.”
The former co-stars resolved most of their legal dispute last month just before trial proceedings were scheduled to begin on Lively’s retaliation allegations. While she didn’t receive monetary compensation from the settlement agreement, she retained the ability to seek legal fees.
Neither legal team responded immediately to requests for comment.
Lively filed harassment and retaliation accusations against Baldoni and his production company in late 2024, claiming the actor orchestrated a campaign to harm her public image and reputation.
Baldoni, who both directed and starred alongside Lively in the dark romantic drama, rejected allegations of harassment or running a reputation-damaging operation. He maintained that Lively’s behavioral complaints were fabricated as part of her attempt to gain creative authority over the production. His countersuit alleged defamation and extortion against both Lively and her spouse, “Deadpool” star Ryan Reynolds.
Last year, Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit and recently threw out Lively’s harassment allegations, ruling she couldn’t pursue them since she worked as an independent contractor rather than an employee during filming.
“It Ends With Us,” based on Colleen Hoover’s popular 2016 novel exploring a relationship that turns abusive, hit theaters in August 2024 and performed better than anticipated at the box office.
Lively’s career includes roles in 2005’s “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and the television series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012, followed by film appearances in “The Town” and “The Shallows.”
Baldoni appeared in the television comedy “Jane the Virgin,” helmed the 2019 movie “Five Feet Apart,” and authored “Man Enough,” a book examining conventional masculinity concepts.
