EXCLUSIVE: Blake Lively Still Battling — Lawyers Bringing Justin Baldoni Back to Court in $8Million Lawsuit
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni return to court as their $8 million lawsuit moves forward.
July 23 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
Blake Lively is dragging Justin Baldoni back into court – knee-capping her It Ends With Us costar with a lawsuit seeking $8.04million, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
She's asked a federal judge to award her that staggering amount in attorneys' fees and litigation costs following the pair's headline-making legal battle.
Lively Seeks Massive Legal Fees
Wayfarer Studios and Justin Baldoni are contesting Blake Lively's request for $8.04 million in attorneys' fees and litigation costs.
The Gossip Girl alum made the request after the judge's recent ruling that she's entitled to seek her legal eagle's fees and costs. At the same time, the judge denied her bid for treble and punitive damages.
Baldoni, 42, and the film's production company, Wayfarer Studios, are fighting the fee request and have until July 13 to challenge the amount.
Lively, 38, filed the suit June 29 after Justin's defamation-related lawsuit against her was dismissed. According to her legal filing, the work required to defeat his suit was "comprehensive and necessary" and the case's unusually high profile drove up costs, citing "significant press attention, with thousands of indexed and syndicated media articles."
The suit claims extensive discovery included a whopping 7,000 documents produced by Lively and tens of thousands more from Wayfarer and others.
Legal Drama Finally Winds Down
Judge Lewis J. Liman left Lively's request for attorneys' fees and costs for the court to decide after the parties reached a settlement.
The legal issues started when Lively filed a $400million lawsuit against Baldoni alleging sexual harassment and a smear campaign in December 2024. The Jane the Virgin alum countersued, but the case collapsed over time.
Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni's suit last June and threw out 10 of Lively's 13 claims, including all those involving sexual harassment against her costar and director, in April.
The parties reached a settlement in May, just weeks before a scheduled trial. As part of that agreement, the parties resolved the broader litigation but left Lively's request for attorneys' fees, costs and damages for the court to decide.
Legal Bills Top Movie Budget
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Legal fees for Lively and Baldoni's court battle reportedly exceeded the production cost of 'It Ends With Us.'
In an only-in-Hollywood twist, legal fees for the dueling lawsuits totaled more than what it cost to make It Ends With Us.
Lively and Baldoni reportedly spent a combined $60million during their 18-month legal tussle.
The romantic drama was originally budgeted at $25million, but in the end it cost an estimated $55million to get on the big screen – meaning the costars' legal bills tallied $5million more.
And those bills are bound to grow with this new development.
