Blake Lively is seeking more than $8 million in attorneys’ fees and other legal costs from Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer after the director’s $400 million defamation case against his “It Ends With Us” co-star was dismissed.
Baldoni and Lively reached a settlement in May, just two weeks before their case was set to go to trial. Judge Lewis Liman then ruled that Lively was entitled to compensation for her defense costs thanks to the Protecting Survivors From Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act (aka Section 47.1), a 2023 California law designed to protect sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination victims from retaliatory defamation lawsuits.
In a late Monday memorandum filed in New York, the actress asked for $7,495,526.87 in attorneys’ fees and $539,514.01 in other litigation costs. While her initial request for punitive damages was not granted, she can still pursue those separately.
“Thanks to this landmark decision, those considering using a lawsuit as a weapon of intimidation have been put on notice that there are consequences for doing so,” Lively’s attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson shared in a Tuesday statement with TheWrap. “The value of this ruling is in the precedent it creates, the accountability it imposes, and the protection it provides to those who may one day find themselves facing similar retaliation for speaking the truth.”
“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,” Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said earlier this month. “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.”
TheWrap has reached out to both parties for further comment.
“The end product – the movie ‘It Ends With Us’ – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors – and all survivors – is a goal that we stand behind. We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard,” read their joint statement last month. “We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.”
