Blake Lively Wins Bid for Legal Fees, Loses Push for Damages After Justin Baldoni Settlement

Weeks after Lively and Baldoni settled their case and both claimed victory, a judge has ruled on whether the actress is entitled to attorneys’ fees, costs and damages

A judge has ruled on Blake Lively’s bid to continue pursuing attorneys’ fees, litigation costs and damages in her legal battle with Justin Baldoni over allegations tied to the making of It Ends With Us.

In a decision issued on June 12, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman partially granted Lively’s seek additional relief under California Civil Code Section 47.1 following the parties’ May settlement.

Liman ruled that Lively is entitled to attorneys’ fees and litigation costs related to Baldoni’s counterclaim under the California statute, but denied her request to pursue treble damages and punitive damages.

Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, said in a statement to PEOPLE that the ruling confirmed their client’s position under California law.

“Blake Lively won her motion under Civil Code Section 47.1,” the attorneys said. “Today’s ruling 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 under Section 47.1.”

“The Court is awarding Ms. Lively attorneys’ fees and costs and has explained that a prevailing defendant under Section 47.1 may seek damages using different procedural mechanisms,” they continued. “The parties’ settlement agreement expressly preserves Ms. Lively’s rights to obtain those damages.”

“The Court concludes that, on this record, the Wayfarer Parties have failed to carry their burden of demonstrating that the Section 47.1 privilege does not apply, and Lively is therefore entitled to fees and costs,” the judge wrote. However, Liman separately concluded that “Lively’s request for damages must be denied.”

The amount of attorneys’ fees and costs Lively may recover has yet to be determined. However, the parties previously agreed to waive any appeal of Liman’s ruling on the motion.

Following the decision, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement that Lively “was only awarded limited attorney fees for a single claim as part of a case that lasted only a matter of months, nothing more.”

Freedman added: “We fought and won against a coordinated effort built on allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and a smear campaign that never happened. Ms. Lively demanded over 300 million in fees and damages, had 10 of her 13 claims dismissed, she then chose to settle and received nothing.”

He deemed the judge’s decision not to award damages a failure for Lively’s team. “Not withstanding that all of her sexual harassment and defamation claims were thrown out by the court, Ms. Lively then pivoted to exploit a California law that was established to protect real victims in what proved to be a fruitless mission to obtain damages.  Once again, she failed.”

The dispute arose after Lively, 38, and Baldoni, 42, settled the case just two weeks before trial, with both sides publicly declaring victory.

While Lively’s lawyers called the resolution “a complete and total victory,” Freedman argued it demonstrated that her claims lacked merit. Lively did not receive any money as part of the settlement, despite originally seeking $300 million in damages.

The parties later returned to court to battle over whether Lively could continue pursuing attorneys’ fees, litigation costs and damages under California’s anti-retaliation law.

At a June hearing, Baldoni attorney Ellyn Garofalo argued that Lively was attempting “an end run around a jury trial” and could not recover under California Civil Code Section 47.1 without first proving her claims before a jury.

Lively attorney Mike Gottlieb countered that the statute expressly permits prevailing parties to seek attorneys’ fees, costs and damages and argued that defendants could not avoid its consequences after previously advocating for California law to govern the dispute.

The ruling marks the latest chapter in a legal battle that began in December 2024, when Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation stemming from the production of It Ends With Us.

Baldoni denied the allegations and later filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane and others. Earlier this year, Liman dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety. Baldoni has since appealed that decision.

Via: People