“It Ends With Us” director and star Justin Baldoni has been ordered to pay co-star Blake Lively‘s legal fees for his failed defamation lawsuit against her.
Judge Lewis Liman ruled as such Friday, seemingly bringing an end to the bitter legal battle between Lively and Baldoni that has raged for nearly two years. Liman, however, ruled that Baldoni was not liable to pay for any additional damages caused by his claims against his former co-star.
The ruling comes one month after Lively and Baldoni reached a settlement in court, a resolution that was itself found just two weeks before the legal battle was set to reach a federal trial stage. As part of the settlement, Baldoni waived his right to appeal the court’s decision on his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively, which was formally dismissed last year.
Judge Liman ruled that Lively was entitled to compensation for her defense costs thanks to the Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act (referred to throughout the ruling as Section 47.1), a 2023 California law designed to protect sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination victims from retaliatory defamation lawsuits.
“The statute ensures that if a plaintiff invokes California law to bring a defamation claim against a defendant for making statements regarding sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination, and the defendant succeeds in dismissing the claim, the plaintiff must pay the defendant’s legal fees and costs unless it turns out that the statements were made with malice,” Liman’s ruling reads. “Lively made statements that come within the purview of Section 47.1.”
“She prevailed on her defense, and—on this record—there is no evidence of malice,” the judge concluded. “Accordingly, she is entitled to attorneys’ fees under Section 47.1.”
Lively has accused Baldoni of not only sexually harassing her on the set of “It Ends With Us,” the Colleen Hoover adaptation that Baldoni directed and starred in, but also of coordinating an online smear campaign against her. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios attempted to mount a defamation lawsuit of their own accusing Lively of making false claims of harassment in order to tarnish his reputation and hijack the “It Ends With Us” adaptation. That suit was dismissed.
Next steps involve the court determining how much in legal fees Baldoni will be obligated to pay Lively. As part of that process, Lively’s legal team will be expected to submit a comprehensive breakdown of their wages paid and resources used throughout the case. Additionally, while Liman’s ruling did not grant Lively’s motion for treble and punitive damages, the actress and producer is still capable of pursuing compensation for them through other avenues.
“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,” Lively’s attorneys Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb wrote in a statement shared with TheWrap. “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.”
“The parties’ settlement agreement expressly preserves Ms. Lively’s rights to obtain those damages,” Hudson and Gottlieb’s statement continues. “Ms. Lively is gratified that her lawsuit shows how Section 47.1 and laws like it create a path for survivors to hold accountable those who weaponize online attacks and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors.”
TheWrap has reached out to Baldoni’s representatives for comment.
