Justin Baldoni urges judge to reject or cut Blake Lively's USD 8 million legal fee request

WASHINGTON: Justin Baldoni has asked a federal judge to deny or "substantially reduce" Blake Lively's request for more than USD 8 million in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, escalating the latest chapter in the high-profile legal dispute between the two actors.

According to a court filing submitted on Monday, July 13, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios argued that Lively's application is "anything but a typical fee motion", alleging that her legal team billed excessive hours and charged unreasonable rates, as reported by People magazine.

The filing compares Lively's request with an attorney fee application previously submitted by The New York Times, arguing that the newspaper sought only USD 181,622.70 in legal fees after successfully moving to dismiss what Baldoni's lawyers described as "precisely the same defamation claim," as per People magazine.

In 2024, Baldoni sued The New York Times for USD 250 million, alleging the publication defamed him by reporting that he and his public relations team had engaged in a "smear campaign" against Lively. That claim was later dismissed.

Baldoni's latest filing also contends that Lively's legal team overstaffed the case. It claims there were multiple lawyers attending the same hearings, excessive internal conferences and strategy meetings, and 7,070.20 billable hours logged by 82 timekeepers, which it says is around 20 times higher than amounts previously approved in comparable high-profile defamation cases.

"The most cursory review of Lively's submission shows multiple lawyers at the same hearings, numerous charges for lawyers conferencing, conferring, or strategising with one another, and, to put it mildly, extremely excessive research and online investigation," the filing states, as per People magazine.

Along with attorneys' fees, Lively is seeking USD 539,514,01 in litigation costs and expenses. Baldoni's filing describes that amount as "a whopping sum.

The filing asks Judge Lewis Liman to reject the request entirely or significantly reduce any award.

"Lively fails to meet her burden to present credible evidence showing that the fees and costs she seeks to recover are reasonable and, accordingly, her fee motion should be denied in its entirety," the filing argues, adding, "At minimum, the Court should substantially reduce the request, using as a benchmark the USD 181,622.70 the Times sought after securing dismissal of Count II on its separate motion to dismiss, the same outcome Lively achieved," as quoted by People magazine.

The legal dispute began following the production and promotion of 'It Ends With Us'. Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024, after which Baldoni filed a USD 400 million countersuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Judge Liman dismissed the countersuit in June 2025.

Following that decision, Lively filed a motion seeking USD 7,495,526.87 in attorneys' fees and USD 539,514.01 in litigation costs and expenses under California Civil Code Section 47.1, arguing that the fees arose from the "successful defense of the Wayfarer Action."

As per People magazine, her filing states the legal work covered the period from January 2025, when Baldoni filed his countersuit, through June 2025, when the deadline to amend the dismissed complaint expired.

Lively's attorneys argued that the work performed was "comprehensive and necessary to achieve the complete win that was secured," adding that Lively "has paid, and continues to pay her legal bills. They also said she intends to seek additional attorneys' fees incurred while litigating the fee application.

After filing the motion, Lively's attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, said the application carried broader significance.

"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, adding, "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," as per People magazine.

Lively's filing also argues that the case's unusually high public profile increased litigation costs due to extensive media attention, significant discovery and motion practice, including the production of more than 7,000 documents by Lively and tens of thousands more from Wayfarer parties and third parties.

The broader litigation between the parties was settled in May. Judge Lewis Liman must now decide whether Baldoni is required to pay Lively's attorneys fees and litigation costs related to his counterclaim, and if so, determine the amount.

Separately, Baldoni addressed the legal battle publicly for the first time in an Instagram video posted on July 8 alongside his wife, Emily Baldoni.

"We don't even know if this is the right thing to say," Justin Baldoni said, adding. "We just know we need to share something. What I will say is that there have been so many painful things that have been spoken into existence over the last couple of years. That created so much noise, and we didn't want to add to the noise. So we just wanted to let the justice system run its course," as quoted by People magazine.

Emily Baldoni added that while they have "immense gratitude" for their supporters, it "doesn't negate the injustice and the pain that we have also felt in the last few years," saying the couple experienced "a lot of trauma" that made it difficult to speak publicly.