A federal judge in New York ordered actor Justin Baldoni on Wednesday to pay Blake Lively $400,000 in legal fees following their high-profile court battle over the film It Ends With Us.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman awarded the actress just five percent of the nearly $8 million she had demanded to recoup costs from defending against Baldoni's dismissed $400 million defamation lawsuit.
In a final ruling on Wednesday, Judge Liman directed the court clerk to enter judgment for Lively in the amount of $363,245.40 in attorneys' fees and $44,206.35 in costs, bringing the total award to $407,451.75.
Drastic Reduction in Requested Legal Fees
The court ruling comes months after Judge Liman threw out most of the claims in Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against her co-star and director. The pair subsequently agreed in May to settle the case with no money changing hands, ending a two-year legal battle just two weeks before it was scheduled to go to trial.
Lively, an American actress known for her roles in Gossip Girl and A Simple Favor, filed court documents weeks after the settlement seeking to recover her legal expenses. Filings submitted last month revealed she was demanding $8.3 million in total, which included $4,544,094 from law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher and $2,951,432 from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.
Lively had claimed that Baldoni owed her $7,495,526.87 in legal fees and $539,514.01 in costs accumulated over 10 months of fighting his countersuit before its dismissal in October 2025. Her team noted that an additional hearing on June 1 added another $300,000 to the final bill.
Judge Criticizes Unreasonable Hours and Billing Flaws
In a 21-page ruling, Judge Liman wrote that while both sides "have waged (a) fierce battle against each other in court," the total amount requested by Lively was excessive. He noted that while the hourly rates charged by attorneys on both sides were "not unreasonable" given the "substantial financial and reputational risks" involved, the overall time billed was not justified.
"The number of hours for which Lively seeks reimbursement is unreasonable," Judge Liman stated. He highlighted that Lively did not submit original billing invoices to the court, providing instead summary forms outlining the requested payments.
The judge noted that Baldoni's legal team had "identified a series of flaws in the [Lively] records that are illustrative of broader discrepancies and deficiencies in the fees schedule." Specifically, billing entries for internal team communications were "vaguely described" and failed to identify the specific work performed.
Judge Liman also rejected Lively's request to be reimbursed for her public relations team, ruling that "media relations were not integral to defending the defamation claim brought against Lively."
Extensive Legal Teams and High Hourly Rates
Court documents revealed the scale of Lively's legal representation, which involved work performed by 82 people across two major law firms. Willkie Farr & Gallagher describes itself as a premier international law firm employing 1,300 lawyers across 16 offices nationwide.
Lively's lead attorney, Michael Gottlieb, charges a standard rate of $2,795 per hour but offered Lively a discounted rate of $2,187 per hour. Gottlieb billed 224 hours on the case, totaling $457,000 for his individual work.
Other expenses highlighted in the legal filings included $155 charged for a single six-minute phone call and $1,400 for an attorney's one-night stay at a five-star hotel. Gottlieb had previously argued that such fees were "reasonable" and confirmed that Lively had paid her legal bills in full.
Opposing Arguments Over Scorched Earth Tactics
In court filings signed by lawyer Esra Hudson on behalf of both law firms representing Lively, her legal team accused Baldoni's attorneys of employing "scorched-earth litigation tactics designed to drain Lively's resources." Hudson argued that Lively was forced to seek "frequent relief from the court to reign in their abusive behavior."
Baldoni's lawyer Ellyn Garofalo countered in court filings last month that demanding $7,070,200 in billable hours was "excessive." Garofalo argued that the schedules submitted by Lively were "extremely overinclusive and deeply flawed," noting that her legal team spent an "exorbitant amount of time conferring internally" and acted inefficiently.
Baldoni's attorneys further argued that Lively failed to provide underlying billing records to attribute specific fees to defending against the defamation claim. They also argued she requested $539,514.01 in costs without providing supporting evidence, stating that "Lively fails to meet her burden to present credible evidence showing that the fees and costs she seeks to recover are reasonable."
Statements From Both Sides Following the Ruling
Following Wednesday's order, Lively's attorneys Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb issued a joint statement criticizing Baldoni's original countersuit. "Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties lost their meritless retaliatory $400 million lawsuit, which two different courts held was designed to stifle public criticism and silence Blake Lively and others," they said.
They praised the fee decision, stating: "This first-ever award of fees and costs under this California law is historic, and demonstrates that there are real consequences of bringing retaliatory lawsuits. As we have said from day one, Blake Lively's case was never about money - it was about accountability."
The attorneys added that Lively's lawsuit "exposed an industry of secret online smear campaigns that largely target women, and unsurprisingly involve the same players. She lifted the curtain for other victims, and set the precedent for others to come forward and expose similar conduct. This result demonstrates that the legal system is not as easily manipulated as social media, and still functions as a force for accountability."
In response to the ruling, Baldoni's lawyer Brian Freedman told the Daily Mail: "The ruling is a significant victory for my clients and sends a clear message that, no matter how powerful you may be, the courtroom is not a place to take advantage of the law for your own personal gain."
Origins of the Feud on Film Set
The legal clash began with a falling out between the stars on the set of It Ends With Us, a romantic drama movie based on Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel. Baldoni, an American actor and filmmaker known for his starring role in Jane the Virgin, directed the movie and co-starred alongside Lively.
The film achieved major commercial success following its release, earning $148 million at the domestic box office and $350 million worldwide. However, the film's success was overshadowed by the feud between its leads.
Lively initially filed suit against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment on set and defamation. Baldoni responded in January 2025 by filing a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times, which was the first media outlet to report Lively's allegations.
In February 2025, both actors attended court-ordered settlement conferences in federal court, accompanied by their spouses and legal teams. Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni's defamation lawsuit in October 2025, but ruled that Lively could seek recovery of legal fees strictly related to her defense against that claim, leading to Wednesday's fee decision.
