Judge awards Blake Lively about $400,000 in legal fees in Justin Baldoni case

A judge has ordered actress Blake Lively to receive more than $400,000 in attorney’s fees and costs stemming from her protracted legal battle with fellow actor Justin Baldoni, according to a report published Wednesday. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, awarded Lively $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs, for a total of $407,451.75, the report said.

The award comes after Lively sought substantially more money for legal expenses, requesting $8 million in attorney’s costs tied to the litigation. The Guardian reported that the final figure was far below the amount she requested, leaving the parties with a dispute resolved on the fee level rather than an overall damages settlement figure in the report.

According to the report, the fee dispute followed an 18-month period of litigation between Lively and Baldoni. The case has drawn attention in entertainment coverage because it intersected widely followed media figures and because attorney-fee awards can shape how future parties evaluate the risks and expense of similar legal strategies in high-profile disputes.

The order also highlights the role courts play in policing the cost side of litigation. Even when one party seeks reimbursement for large portions of legal spending, judges typically assess reasonableness and determine what is recoverable under applicable legal standards. In this matter, Liman’s fee decision resulted in an award exceeding $400,000 rather than the millions Lively had asked for.

While the report focused on the fee ruling’s amount and timing, it also indicates that Lively and her legal team pursued a reimbursement theory intended to recover extensive costs over the course of the case. The size of the final award underscores that courts may award only a portion of claimed fees, depending on the record and how legal work is characterized as necessary and compensable.

The Guardian did not detail, in the portion summarized for this report, the specific reasoning Liman used to set the final numbers. Still, the decision provides a concrete next step in the financial aftermath of the litigation, affecting how the parties close out the costs of counsel that were incurred during the dispute.

For viewers and industry observers, the ruling is another example of how disputes between public figures can continue long after the core claims are resolved, as attorneys seek fee recovery and courts adjudicate what portions of those expenses are legally recoverable. The $407,451.75 award, reported as issued by Liman on Wednesday, represents the most recent quantified court action in the Lively-Baldoni matter.