Judge awards Blake Lively attorney fees after Baldoni countersuit dismissed

A federal judge ruled that Blake Lively can recover attorney fees and costs tied to her defense against a countersuit filed by Justin Baldoni.

Judge Lewis J. Liman issued the written decision after Lively sued Baldoni in December 2024. The judge rejected her requests to triple damages and seek punitive damages.

Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told Fox News Digital that Lively failed in her attempt to sue Baldoni for sexual harassment. He said the defense team won against allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation and a smear campaign that never happened. Freedman said Lively had demanded over 300 million in fees and damages, had 10 of her 13 claims dismissed, then settled and received nothing.

Freedman added that Lively tried to use a California law meant to protect real victims but failed again. He said she received only limited attorney fees for a single claim in a case that lasted a few months. He said innocent people had their reputations tarnished and that there was no sexual harassment, no retaliation and no smear campaign.

Lively's legal team responded that Freedman and his clients issued a statement full of lies. They said Baldoni now believes women who bring good-faith claims of sexual harassment and retaliation should be sued into oblivion. They said the court applied a law that prevents that outcome and that people who do nothing wrong do not have to pay millions of dollars.

The dispute began in late 2024 when Lively filed a complaint and later a lawsuit alleging Baldoni sexually harassed her during the production of It Ends With Us and that he and his associates tried to damage her reputation. Baldoni denied the claims.

In January 2025, Baldoni filed a 400 million dollar lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and others, alleging defamation and extortion. He also sued The New York Times. In June 2025, a federal judge dismissed Baldoni's countersuit. The parties reached a settlement in May 2026 that ended most of the remaining litigation.