Federal Judge Awards Blake Lively Attorneys' Fees in It Ends With Us Dispute Against Justin Baldoni

A federal court has sided with Blake Lively in her bid to recoup legal expenses from her legal battle with Justin Baldoni, marking another chapter in the It Ends With Us dispute.

On Friday, June 12, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman issued a partial ruling granting Lively's request for attorneys' fees and litigation costs. However, the judge declined to award treble damages and punitive damages that she had also sought.

The case centers on events that unfolded after Lively, 38, and Baldoni, 41, reached a settlement in May, just two weeks before trial was scheduled to begin. Lively initially filed suit in December 2024, alleging sexual harassment and a retaliatory public smear campaign. Baldoni denied the allegations and countersued for $400 million, a claim that was later dismissed.

Following the settlement, the two parties remained at odds over whether Lively had the right to pursue attorneys' fees and damages under California's anti-retaliation statute in connection with Baldoni's counterclaim.

Baldoni's attorney Bryan Freedman responded to the ruling with a statement emphasizing the limited scope of the award. "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.

He added that the defense had successfully challenged the original allegations. "We fought and won against a coordinated effort built on allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and a smear campaign that never happened," the statement read. "Ms. Lively demanded over 300 million in fees and damages, had 10 of her 13 claims dismissed, she then chose to settle and received nothing."

Freedman characterized the judge's decision not to award Lively damages as a defeat for her side, saying she had attempted to "exploit a California law that was established to protect real victims in what proved to be a fruitless mission to obtain damages."

Lively's legal team fired back with their own statement, accusing Freedman of deploying what they called a DARVO tactic—an acronym for Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. They pointed to Baldoni's previous statements expressing support for Lively's claims.

"Just a few weeks ago, they said Blake Lively's claims 'deserved to be heard,'" the statement noted. "Now it seems Justin Baldoni thinks women who bring claims of sexual harassment and retaliation in good faith, without malice, should be sued into oblivion."

Lively's team emphasized that California law prevents such financial retaliation. "Thankfully, there's a law against that, and the Court applied it today. People who do nothing wrong don't have to pay millions of dollars, which is where this is headed now," they concluded.