Judge Grants Blake Lively Roughly $400,000 in Legal Fees After Defamation Suit

After settling a protracted legal conflict with co-star Justin Baldoni in May, Blake Lively pursued a claim for attorneys’ fees tied to defending against Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit. On Wednesday, Judge Lewis Liman granted her $363,000 in legal fees plus $44,000 in court costs, a fraction of the $7.5 million in fees and $540,000 in costs she had asked for. The judge found the billing rates reasonable but concluded the total hours claimed were excessive, awarding roughly double what the New York Times received for its own defense.

Lively’s earlier complaint to the California Civil Rights Department accused Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of launching an online smear campaign after she raised sexual-harassment concerns on the set of “It Ends With Us.” Baldoni’s counter-suit alleging fabricated allegations by Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, was dismissed on grounds of litigation privilege. The case also involved a dismissed suit against the New York Times for its coverage of the civil-rights filing.