The long legal war between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has reached its final chapter. A federal judge ruled on June 12, 2026, that Baldoni must pay Lively’s attorney fees, handing the actress a partial victory in the last unresolved issue of their bitter dispute.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman in New York came just weeks after the two It Ends With Us co-stars settled their broader legal battle out of court, avoiding a high-profile trial that was set to begin in May.
The Judge’s Decision: Fees Granted, Damages Denied
Judge Liman ruled that Lively is entitled to recover her legal costs for defending against Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit, which the judge dismissed last year. The decision cites a California law designed to protect people who report sexual misconduct from retaliatory defamation claims.
However, the judge rejected Lively’s request for additional financial penalties, including triple damages and punitive damages. Liman wrote that those remedies do not fall under the federal procedural rules governing this type of motion.
“The court leaves the door open to Lively seeking damages by other means, like an independent lawsuit or a counterclaim, including in federal court,” Judge Liman stated in his 47-page order.
No Evidence of Malice From Blake Lively
One key finding favored Lively. The judge noted that Baldoni and his team provided “no evidence” that Lively acted with malice when she made her sexual harassment allegations against the director.
Judge Liman wrote that “allegations are insufficient on their own to demonstrate that statements were in fact made with malice. That determination requires some evidence.”
This finding was significant because the California law Lively invoked requires that accusers make their complaints “without malice” to qualify for fee recovery.
How Much Will Baldoni Pay?
The exact amount Baldoni must pay has not been determined yet. Judge Liman will now review documentation from Lively’s legal team detailing their hours and billing rates.
Given the high-profile nature of the case and the prominent attorneys involved, including Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, the final sum could reach into the seven figures.
Both sides agreed as part of their settlement not to appeal Judge Liman’s ruling.
Both Sides Claim Victory
As expected, legal teams for both actors framed the outcome as a win for their side.
Lively’s attorneys, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, released a statement declaring victory:
“Blake Lively won her motion under Civil Code Section 47.1. Today’s ruling makes it clear that Ms. Lively brought her claims in good faith, that there was no evidence she acted with malice, and that she is the prevailing defendant under Section 47.1.”
They added that Lively “is gratified that her lawsuit shows how Section 47.1 and laws like it create a path for survivors to hold accountable those who weaponize online attacks and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors.”
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, pushed back hard, pointing out that most of Lively’s original claims were dismissed before the settlement.
“We fought and won against a coordinated effort built on allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation and a smear campaign that never happened,” Freedman said in a statement.
He noted that Lively demanded over $300 million in fees and damages, had 10 of her 13 claims dismissed, and ultimately received nothing in the settlement.
“Once again, she failed. 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,” Freedman said.
The Settlement That Ended the Legal War
The fee ruling was the only unresolved issue after Lively and Baldoni reached a settlement in early May 2026, just two weeks before their trial was set to begin.
Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but sources confirmed that no money changed hands between the two parties. The agreement allowed Lively to pursue legal fees through the California law while ending all other claims.
How the Legal Battle Began
The dispute started in December 2024, when Lively accused Baldoni, who also directed It Ends With Us, of sexual harassment on set and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
She claimed Baldoni made inappropriate remarks about his sex life, discussed his “pornography addiction” in front of cast members, and sought to add sex scenes that were not in the script.
Baldoni countersued in January 2025, filing a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times. He argued that Lively fabricated the harassment claims to seize creative control of the film.
Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit in 2025, and earlier this year dismissed parts of Lively’s sexual harassment claims on jurisdictional grounds.
It Ends With Us: The Movie at the Center of It All
The film that started everything, It Ends With Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel about domestic violence, was released in August 2024 and exceeded box office expectations.
Despite the legal chaos behind the scenes, both stars issued a rare joint statement earlier this year reflecting on their work:
“The end product – the movie It Ends With Us – is a source of pride to all of us who worked to bring it to life. Raising awareness and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors is a goal that we stand behind.”
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What Comes Next
With Judge Liman’s ruling now final and both sides agreeing not to appeal, the legal battle between Lively and Baldoni is officially closed. The only remaining step is for the court to determine the exact amount Baldoni must pay for Lively’s legal fees.
The case has become a landmark example of how the 2023 California law (Civil Code Section 47.1) can be used by accusers to fight back against retaliatory defamation lawsuits, even when the original harassment claims are dismissed.
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