Blake Lively has asked a judge to award her $8 million in attorneys’ fees and costs for having to defend against Justin Baldoni‘s defamation suit against her.
Lively accused Baldoni, her co-star and director, of sexually harassing her on the set of “It Ends With Us,” and of launching an online whisper campaign against her after she complained. In response, Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios filed a $400 million defamation suit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, alleging that they had weaponized false allegations of harassment in order to seize control of the film.
The defamation suit was dismissed last year, after the judge ruled that Lively’s allegations were protected by litigation privilege. Lively dropped her lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, and others on the eve of trial in May. No money changed hands in the settlement, but Lively was allowed to pursue her motion for fees.
Judge Lewis Liman agreed earlier this month that Lively should receive attorney fees under a 2023 California law meant to protect sexual abuse accusers from retaliatory defamation suits. At the same time, he denied Lively’s request for damages.
In a motion filed on Monday night, Lively’s lawyers stated they billed her $7.5 million in fees — at rates as high as $2,187 per hour — in the course of defending against the defamation suit. Another $540,000 was spent on legal costs.
Her attorneys argued that the fee award would help to deter frivolous and retaliatory suits against accusers in the future.
“This gross abuse of the legal system was not meant to win in court — its aim was to retaliate against Lively by falsely branding her a liar, intimidating witnesses and the media, and discouraging others from speaking out,” they wrote in the motion.
The $8 million in fees represents only a fraction of the legal costs incurred by Lively during the course of 18 months of litigation against Baldoni. The fee award does not cover any costs associated with her own suit, which entailed extensive depositions, other discovery, document review, motion practice, and public relations.
Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, Lively’s lead attorneys, hailed the judge’s earlier ruling allowing them to seek reimbursement for defending against the defamation suit.
“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,” they said in a statement. “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.”
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, previously downplayed the judge’s ruling,
“Ms. Lively was only awarded limited attorney fees for a single claim as part of a case that lasted only a matter of months, nothing more,” he said earlier this month, noting that 10 of Lively’s 13 claims were thrown out by the judge before the settlement. “Notwithstanding that all of her sexual harassment and defamation claims were thrown out by the court, Ms. Lively then pivoted to exploit a California law that was established to protect real victims in what proved to be a fruitless mission to obtain damages. Once again, she failed.”
Baldoni’s team declined to comment on the request for fees, but will have an opportunity to respond in court before a sum is awarded.
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