Lively, Baldoni Return to Court Over Settlement Dispute

The legal dispute between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni returned to a federal courtroom in New York on Monday, as Lively’s attorneys sought significant financial penalties from Baldoni despite a settlement agreement reached between the two parties last month. The hearing centered on Lively’s request for legal fees, compensatory damages, and punitive damages under a California law designed to protect individuals who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory lawsuits.

Lively’s legal team argued that a $400 million defamation lawsuit Baldoni filed against her and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, in January 2025 was precisely the type of retaliatory action the statute aims to deter. That countersuit was dismissed by a judge last year. Attorney Michael Gottlieb, representing Lively, stated the law mandates severe penalties to protect survivors from protracted legal battles. He contended Lively is entitled to recover costs and damages as the prevailing defendant in that dismissed case.

Attorneys for Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, vigorously opposed the motion. Ellyn Garofalo, representing Baldoni, told U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman that the...