Blake Lively requests more than $8M in legal fees from Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively requests more than $8M in legal fees from Justin Baldoni
Liza Esquibias, USA TODAYTue, June 30, 2026 at 5:53 PM UTC
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Blake Lively is asking Justin Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios to pay her more than $8 million in legal fees relating to his previously dismissed defamation case against her.
The actress, 38, filed a motion Tuesday, June 30, requesting a New York court "award her reasonable attorneys' fees of $7,495,526.87 and costs in the amount of $539,514.01," according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
The expenses stem from Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against his former costar, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times for civil extortion, defamation and false light, which the actor filed in January 2025 after Lively sued him and Wayfarer the month prior over claims that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of "It Ends with Us" and helped orchestrate a smear campaign against her.
Judge Lewis Liman ultimately dismissed the suit and granted Lively's petition for attorneys costs and fees accrued during the proceedings. In the new filing, Lively's legal team wrote a total of $8,035,040.88 spent on her defense was "comprehensive and necessary to achieve the complete win that was secured."
Blake Lively says she spent millions fighting Justin Baldoni's lawsuit
The "Gossip Girl" alum's lawyers called Baldoni's countersuit a "gross abuse of the legal system" that was "not meant to win in court" in their latest request.
"Its aim was to retaliate against Lively by falsely branding her a liar, intimidating witnesses and the media, and discouraging others from speaking out," her legal team wrote, further accusing Baldoni and Wayfarer of employing "scorched-earth" legal strategy "designed to drain Lively's resources."
Lively's attorneys said she "has paid, and continues to pay" bills relating to the matter and noted her intention to seek "any additional attorneys' fees" spent on her continuing efforts to have them paid. In a breakdown of the $7,495,526.87 in fees, the filing revealed Lively's legal team charged a rate of up to $2,187 per hour for their work.
The filing also pointed to the more than 7,000 documents produced throughout the litigation and the high-profile status of the case.
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"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 said in a statement to USA TODAY. "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."
The judge has given Baldoni and Wayfarer until July 13 to respond to Lively's motion. USA TODAY has reached out to a representative for Baldoni and Wayfarer for comment.
Look back at Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni legal battle
On May 4, the two reached a settlement concluding the litigation entirely. This came weeks before they were set to go to trial over her December 2024 breach of contract and retaliation lawsuit and shortly after Liman dismissed all but three of her 16 causes of action on April 2.
The terms of the settlement were made public on June 15, revealing Lively, Baldoni and Wayfarer agreed to end "all differences and disputes" and "irrevocably waive any and all appellate rights associated" with either of their prior legal actions, along with the release of a joint statement. However, it left Lively's previously filed motion for compensatory damages from Baldoni over the defamation suit to be finalized separately.
Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni settlement agreement revealed
In her request, Lively cited a California law that aims to protect those who file harassment complaints from retaliatory defamation suits, asking to be rewarded all compensatory damages provided under the statute. This includes attorneys' costs and fees incurred to defend herself in the litigation, along with punitive damages and treble damages – a penalty that would triple the amount of any actual damages awarded.
On June 12, Liman ordered Baldoni and Wayfarer to pay Lively's attorneys costs and fees but did not grant her request for damages.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni lawsuit continues over $8M in legal fees
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