The legal battle that once threatened to become one of Hollywood’s most closely watched courtroom showdowns has taken another unexpected turn. Blake Lively secured a limited win against her former It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni after a U.S. judge ruled that she is entitled to recover certain legal expenses linked to the case. However, the decision stopped short of giving the actress everything she had asked for.
While both camps quickly claimed victory following Friday’s ruling, the latest development highlights just how complicated and bitter the dispute became behind the scenes of a film that was initially celebrated as a major box-office success. Even though much of the case had already been settled before trial, the legal aftershocks continue to shape the narrative surrounding the stars involved.
Judge Awards Legal Fees But Draws the Line Elsewhere
Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled that Lively could recover attorney fees and legal costs connected to defending herself against the countersuit Baldoni filed after she launched legal action in late 2024. The decision relied on a California statute intended to protect individuals who report sexual harassment and discrimination from retaliatory lawsuits designed to intimidate them.
Under that law, if a defamation claim brought in response to such allegations is dismissed, the defendant can recover legal costs from the plaintiff. According to the judge, Baldoni failed to demonstrate that Lively had acted with malicious intent when making her claims, meaning the exception to the statute did not apply in this case.
At the same time, the court rejected another significant part of Lively’s request. The actress had sought permission to pursue punitive damages and triple certain financial awards under California law. Judge Liman denied that request, explaining that those demands did not fit within what he described as “carefully crafted federal procedural rules designed to protect the rights of the parties.”
As a result, the ruling landed somewhere in the middle. Lively obtained a legal victory regarding fees, but not the broader remedies her team had pushed for.
Both Sides Declare Victory After the Decision
Unsurprisingly, neither side interpreted the ruling as a defeat.
Lively’s legal team viewed the judge’s decision as validation that her claims were brought in good faith. In a statement released after the ruling, her lawyers said the award of legal fees “makes it clear that Ms Lively brought her claims in good faith, that there was no evidence she acted with malice, and that she is the prevailing defendant.”
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, offered a sharply different interpretation of the outcome.
“Once again, she failed,” he said, adding, “Throughout this process, innocent people had their reputations unfairly tarnished. There was no sexual harassment. There was no retaliation. There was no smear campaign. The court recognised it, the record reflects it, and we have maintained it from the very beginning.”
The contrasting reactions reflect how deeply divided the parties remain, despite the broader dispute having already been settled before the case reached a public trial. Even after months of legal filings and negotiations, neither side appears willing to concede ground in the court of public opinion.
How the It Ends With Us Dispute Escalated
The conflict first erupted in late 2024, when Blake Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation. She alleged that the actor-director orchestrated an effort to undermine her credibility and damage her reputation after tensions developed between them.
The accusations stunned many observers because the pair had worked closely together on It Ends With Us, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel. The film, which explored themes of domestic violence and emotionally complex relationships, became a commercial success after arriving in theatres in August 2024, surpassing many industry expectations at the box office.
Baldoni strongly denied Lively’s allegations and responded with a countersuit targeting both the actress and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. He accused them of defamation and extortion, arguing that the complaints about his behaviour had been fabricated as part of an attempt to gain creative control over the production.
Over time, however, the legal landscape shifted dramatically. Baldoni’s countersuit was eventually dismissed by the court, while Lively’s sexual harassment claims were dismissed weeks ago. Last month, as the highly anticipated trial date approached, the two sides reached a settlement that resolved the majority of the dispute before proceedings could begin.
Although the courtroom battle has largely come to an end, the case leaves behind difficult questions about workplace conflicts, public image, and the way legal disputes involving high-profile figures unfold under intense media scrutiny. For audiences who embraced It Ends With Us as an emotional adaptation of Hoover’s novel, the controversy surrounding its stars ultimately became a story almost as talked about as the movie itself.
