Blake Lively has secured a partial financial win in her long-running legal dispute with Justin Baldoni, but the amount awarded is nowhere near what her lawyers had requested. Judge Lewis Liman on Wednesday ordered an award of $363,000 in attorneys’ fees and about $44,000 in court costs, bringing the total to roughly $407,000. Lively had sought about $7.5 million in legal fees and another $540,000 in costs after defending herself against Baldoni’s failed defamation lawsuit.
The ruling closes one of the remaining loose ends from the bitter legal battle surrounding It Ends With Us. Lively and Baldoni settled their broader dispute in May, avoiding the federal trial that had been scheduled for later that month, but their agreement left the question of Lively’s legal expenses in the hands of the court. Liman ultimately agreed that she was entitled to recover reasonable fees connected to defending against the defamation case, while rejecting the much larger reimbursement request.
The decision comes after more than 18 months of litigation that began with competing allegations surrounding the production and promotion of It Ends With Us. The case attracted enormous attention because it involved two of the film’s principal figures, allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation, claims of an online smear campaign and a separate defamation lawsuit involving Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and Baldoni.
Why Lively Received Far Less Than She Sought
Liman did not reject Lively’s entitlement to legal fees altogether. Instead, the judge focused on how much time her lawyers claimed to have spent on the specific work for which reimbursement was available. In his ruling, Liman said the attorneys’ billing rates were not unreasonable considering the stakes and complexity of the dispute, but concluded that the number of hours claimed was unreasonable.
That distinction explains why the final figure is dramatically smaller than Lively’s original request. Her lawyers had claimed $7.5 million in fees, with hourly rates reaching as high as $2,187, along with approximately $540,000 in other legal costs. The judge instead awarded $363,000 in fees and $44,000 in costs, meaning Lively received only around 5% of the amount she initially sought when fees and costs are considered together.
The ruling also needs to be separated from the wider settlement. Lively and Baldoni did not resolve their legal dispute with a court verdict establishing that one side won the entire case, and no money changed hands as part of their May settlement, according to Variety’s earlier reporting. The fee ruling therefore addressed a specific part of the litigation rather than reopening the entire case.
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman immediately framed the size of the award as a victory for his client. “The ruling is a significant victory for my clients and sends a clear message that, no matter how powerful you may be, the courtroom is not a place to take advantage of the law for your own personal gain,” Freedman said.
Both Sides Claim The Ruling Supports Them
Lively’s lawyers Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb offered a very different interpretation. They argued that the award demonstrates there can be consequences for lawsuits they characterized as retaliatory, maintaining that their client’s case was ultimately about accountability rather than financial compensation.
“As we have said from day one, Blake Lively’s case was never about money – it was about accountability,” they said. “She lifted the curtain for other victims, and set the precedent for others to come forward and expose similar conduct.” They also argued that the result shows the legal system remains capable of addressing disputes that can become heavily influenced by social media narratives.
The disagreement reflects the broader pattern that has followed the case from the beginning. Both camps have repeatedly described key developments as victories for their respective sides, even when individual rulings produced more limited outcomes. The latest decision is no different: Lively has obtained a court-ordered payment of fees and costs, while Baldoni’s team is emphasizing how far below her original request the award landed.
The legal history is also more complicated than the latest payment might suggest. In April, Liman dismissed 10 of Lively’s 13 civil claims, including her sexual harassment claims, while allowing three claims involving retaliation, aiding and abetting retaliation, and breach of contract to continue. The parties subsequently settled before the scheduled trial, leaving the attorneys’ fee issue to be decided separately.
How The It Ends With Us Legal Battle Reached This Point
Lively filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department in December 2024, alleging that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios retaliated against her after she raised complaints about sexual harassment during the making of It Ends With Us. She alleged that the retaliation included an online campaign designed to damage her reputation. Baldoni and his associates denied those allegations and responded with a defamation lawsuit.
Baldoni’s lawsuit accused Lively and Reynolds of making false allegations and attempting to take control of the film. He also sued The New York Times over its reporting on the allegations, but that case was dismissed after the judge found that Lively’s claims were protected by litigation privilege and that the newspaper’s coverage qualified as a fair report of the proceedings.
Lively later sought attorneys’ fees under a 2023 California law designed to protect people who make sexual-abuse allegations from retaliatory defamation lawsuits. Liman previously ruled that she could pursue reimbursement under the law but denied her requests for treble damages and punitive damages under federal law.
The final fee decision therefore represents a much narrower conclusion than the public battle that surrounded it. Lively has received hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the cost of defending against Baldoni’s defamation case, but the judge did not accept her lawyers’ full calculation of the hours they said were necessary. At the same time, the ruling does not erase the competing allegations that defined the wider dispute or transform the settlement into a conventional courtroom victory for either side.
For now, the sprawling It Ends With Us legal saga has effectively reached its final financial chapter. Lively’s legal team can point to the court’s decision to award fees, while Baldoni’s side can point to the substantial gap between the amount requested and the amount granted. After months of public statements, major filings and high-profile accusations, the latest ruling leaves both sides with a very different version of what the case ultimately proved.
Blake Lively-Baldoni Case: Key Questions Answered
How much money was Blake Lively awarded? Judge Lewis Liman awarded Lively $363,000 in attorneys’ fees and approximately $44,000 in court costs, for a combined total of about $407,000.
How much had Blake Lively requested? Lively had sought approximately $7.5 million in attorneys’ fees and another $540,000 in court costs.
Why did the judge reduce the amount? Liman said the attorneys’ billing rates were not unreasonable, but found that the number of hours claimed for reimbursement was unreasonable given the specific work covered by the fee request.
Did Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settle their lawsuit? Yes. The two sides settled their broader legal dispute in May 2026, avoiding the federal trial that had been scheduled for later that month. The settlement left the attorneys’ fee issue for the judge to resolve.
Did Lively receive money as part of the settlement? No money changed hands as part of the May settlement, according to Variety’s reporting. The roughly $407,000 award comes from the separate court ruling on her request for legal fees and costs.
What happens next in the case? The fee ruling resolves the remaining issue that had been preserved after the settlement. Both sides have already agreed to abide by Liman’s decision on the fee motion and not appeal it.
