Judge awards Blake Lively $407K in legal fees from Justin Baldoni dispute

A federal judge in Manhattan awarded actress Blake Lively approximately $407,000 in legal fees and costs on August 26, 2026, a fraction of the $8 million she had sought in her legal battle with actor and director Justin Baldoni. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman resolves the final outstanding financial issue in the pair's settled dispute over the 2024 film "It Ends With Us."

The award, totaling $407,451.75, comprises $363,245.40 in attorneys' fees and $44,206.35 in costs. Lively had requested over $8 million, including $7.5 million in fees and $540,000 in costs, to defend herself against a defamation countersuit filed by Baldoni. Judge Liman found that while the case was "extremely well-litigated" and billing rates sometimes exceeding $2,000 per hour were not unreasonable given the complexity, the number of hours Lively's team sought reimbursement for was "unreasonable." He also noted that the legal team lacked sufficient detail for some work.

The judge limited Lively's recovery primarily to work tied to defending against Baldoni's defamation claim. He excluded other expenses, including those for media relations, stating that "media relations were not integral to...