Actor Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios have been ordered to pay Blake Lively more than $400,000 in legal fees after a federal judge in New York issued a new court ruling.
US District Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to pay $363,245.40 in attorney fees and $44,206.35 in expenses, totaling approximately $407,451. The figure is far below the more than $8 million initially sought by the actress.
Judge Liman found that the hourly rates charged by lawyers for Lively were not unreasonable. However, he concluded that the number of hours claimed was excessive, ruling that the actress could recover only costs directly connected to defending against dismissed defamation claims rather than the entire litigation.
Lively is an American actress, best known for starring roles in television and film, while Baldoni is an actor and director who co-founded Wayfarer Studios, an independent entertainment production firm based in the United States.
Background of the legal dispute
The high-profile legal dispute began in late 2024 when Lively took legal action against Baldoni, her co-star and director on the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's romance novel It Ends With Us. She alleged sexual harassment and workplace retaliation following complaints she made regarding incidents during production.
Baldoni denied the allegations and responded with a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her husband actor Ryan Reynolds, and others. That lawsuit was subsequently dismissed by the court.
The two parties reached a settlement in May 2026, shortly before their trial was scheduled to begin, with neither side paying financial compensation to the other. The agreement left unresolved the matter of Lively's legal fees, which has now been settled by the court.
California law precedent
Lawyers representing Lively described the ruling as historic, noting that it represents what they stated is the first award of court costs under a specific California statutory provision intended to protect individuals who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory defamation suits.
The ruling comes after approximately 18 months of mutual claims, lawsuits, and court decisions, bringing the long legal battle between the two actors close to a final conclusion.
