Blake Lively asked for nearly $8 million in legal fees from Justin Baldoni, but this week, a judge awarded her just $407,000 instead.
On Wednesday, Judge Lewis Liman ordered Baldoni to pay Lively $363,000 in attorneys’ fees and another $44,000 in court costs stemming from her defense against his unsuccessful defamation lawsuit.
Lively had requested $7.5 million in legal fees and roughly $540,000 in costs following the end of the former It Ends With Us co-stars’ 18-month legal battle.
Liman found that Lively was entitled to “reasonable” fees connected to the defamation case, but concluded that “the number of hours for which Lively seeks reimbursement is unreasonable.”
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, quickly claimed victory, noting that Lively received only a fraction of what she requested.
“The ruling is a significant victory for my clients,” said Freedman.
Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb also responded to the outcome.
“As we have said from day one, Blake Lively’s case was never about money, it was about accountability,” they said.
Lively first accused Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of retaliating against her after she raised sexual harassment complaints tied to the film’s production. Baldoni denied wrongdoing and responded with defamation claims against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times.
The former co-stars settled the majority of their legal dispute in May, avoiding a federal trial.
