Justin Baldoni will have to pay up in the ongoing legal saga with Blake Lively, a judge decided Wednesday.
New York federal judge Lewis Liman awarded the "It Ends with Us" actress, 39, with $363,245.40 in attorney's fees and $44,206.35 in costs following her initial request for more than $8 million, according to an Aug. 26 ruling obtained by USA TODAY.
The six-figure sum stems from Baldoni's dismissed 2025 defamation countersuit against Lively, which was in response to her lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed her on the set of "It Ends with Us." The legal fees are part of the final phase of the yearslong court battle after the pair reached a settlement in May.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Bryan Freedman, lead counsel for Baldoni and his production
company Wayfarer Studios, said the decision – which is about 5% of what Lively was seeking – "speaks for itself."
"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 added.
Lively's attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson also shared a statement with USA TODAY: "Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties lost their meritless retaliatory $400 million lawsuit, which two different courts held was designed to stifle public criticism and silence Blake Lively and others.
"This first-ever award of fees and costs under this California law is historic, and demonstrates that there are real consequences of bringing retaliatory lawsuits," they continued. "As we have said from day one, Blake Lively's case was never about money – it was about accountability."
Lively had pushed for Baldoni to cover her legal fees in a motion for compensation, which cited a California law that aims to protect those who file harassment complaints from retaliatory defamation suits. Her attorneys say the move helped expose "an industry of secret online smear campaigns that largely target women, and unsurprisingly involve the same players."
"She lifted the curtain for other victims, and set the precedent for others to come forward and expose similar conduct. This result demonstrates that the legal system is not as easily manipulated as social media, and still functions as a force for accountability," the statement concluded.
In his statement, Freedman said the law "is an important one designed to protect real survivors, who deserve to see this law tested and perfected in the court of law." He said Lively used it "in ways it was never intended for."
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni legal battle explained
Lively had sued Baldoni, 42, and Wayfarer in December 2024 over claims that her director and costar sexually harassed her on the set of "It Ends with Us" and helped orchestrate a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni filed a $400 million countersuit the next month accusing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times of civil extortion, defamation and false light.
Liman ultimately dismissed the suit and granted Lively's petition to have Baldoni foot the bill for attorneys costs and fees accrued during the proceedings. In a June filing, she asked the court to award her $8,035,040.88 in costs and fees spend on her defense – an amount she said was "comprehensive and necessary to achieve the complete win that was secured."
In a breakdown of the fees, the filing revealed the "Gossip Girl" alum's legal team charged a rate of up to $2,187 per hour for their work. Her attorneys further called Baldoni's suit a "gross abuse of the legal system" that was "not meant to win in court."
"Its aim was to retaliate against Lively by falsely branding her a liar, intimidating witnesses and the media, and discouraging others from speaking out," Lively's defense wrote, going on to accuse Baldoni and Wayfarer of employing "scorched-earth" legal strategy "designed to drain Lively's resources."
Baldoni and Wayfarer filed an opposition to the motion on July 13, stating it "should be denied in its entirety" or, "at minimum," reduced "substantially." His legal team called Lively's request "excessive" and pointed to The New York Times' separate request for $181,622.70 in attorneys fees "to dismiss precisely the same defamation claim."
At the end of July, a judge rewarded the Times with $171,616.20 in damages.
This marked one of the last phases in the pair's longstanding court battle after they came to a settlement agreement in early May to put an end to the litigation entirely. The month prior, Liman dismissed all but three of Lively's 16 causes of action in her December 2024 breach of contract and retaliation lawsuit and she and Baldoni were set to go to trial.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Lively wins $400K in legal fees over Justin Baldoni lawsuit
