Justin Baldoni challenges Blake Lively’s $8m legal fee request

Justin Baldoni asked a federal judge to reject or significantly reduce Blake Lively’s request for more than $8 million in attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, arguing that the amount sought is excessive following the dismissal of his defamation-related claims against her.

Justin Baldoni challenges Blake Lively's multimillion-dollar fee request

People reported that in a filing submitted on July 13, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios asked Judge Lewis J. Liman to deny Lively’s motion in its entirety or substantially reduce any amount awarded.

According to the filing, Lively’s request is “anything but a typical fee motion”, with Baldoni’s legal team arguing that her attorneys billed excessive hourly rates, overstaffed the case and charged for an unreasonable amount of work.

The filing alleges that 82 timekeepers recorded more than 7,000 billable hours, including multiple lawyers attending the same hearings and extensive charges for internal meetings, strategy sessions and legal research.

Filing cites New York Times case as benchmark

Baldoni’s lawyers argued that Lively’s request far exceeds legal fees sought in comparable cases. As an example, they pointed to The New York Times, which sought approximately $181,600 in attorneys’ fees after successfully obtaining dismissal of Baldoni’s $250 million defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

The filing also challenges Lively’s request for more than $539,000 in litigation costs and expenses, describing the figure as excessive.

“Lively fails to meet her burden to present credible evidence showing that the fees and costs she seeks to recover are reasonable,” the filing states, adding that the court should either deny the motion or substantially reduce the amount awarded.

Fee dispute follows dismissal of Baldoni’s counterclaim

The latest court filing is the latest development in the legal dispute stemming from It Ends With Us.

Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni later filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and others, alleging defamation and related claims.

Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit in June 2025. Following that decision, Lively sought $7,495,526.87 in attorneys’ fees and $539,514.01 in litigation costs under California Civil Code Section 47.1.

Her legal team argued that the fees reflected the extensive work required to successfully defend against Baldoni’s claims, citing the scale of the litigation, thousands of documents produced during discovery and the case’s intense public scrutiny.

Judge to decide whether fees will be awarded

Although the broader litigation was settled in May, the dispute over legal fees remains unresolved.

Judge Liman will now determine whether Baldoni must reimburse Lively for her attorneys’ fees and litigation costs and, if so, what amount is reasonable under the law.