By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) – Blake Lively won a partial victory in her contentious litigation against fellow actor Justin Baldoni, as a federal judge on Friday awarded her legal fees but denied additional damages in defending against Baldoni’s previously dismissed defamation lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan ruled after Lively settled her lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and retaliation in connection with their 2024 movie “It Ends With Us,” where both starred and Baldoni directed.
While Lively received no compensation from the settlement, she was allowed to seek fees and damages under a 2023 California law designed to protect sexual harassment accusers from retaliatory defamation lawsuits by their alleged perpetrators.
It is unclear how much money Lively was awarded or sought.
Before Lively settled her lawsuit last month, Liman had dismissed her harassment claims and all claims against Baldoni but said she could sue Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios for retaliation. The judge found no proof Lively or Baldoni acted maliciously in suing each other.
“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,” Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Baldoni, said in a statement. He repeated Baldoni’s denials of Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation claims.
Lively’s lawyers Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson said in a joint statement: “Ms. Lively is gratified that her lawsuit shows how [the California law] and laws like it create a path for survivors to hold accountable those who weaponize online attacks and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors.”
According to a court filing, both sides agreed not to appeal Friday’s 47-page decision.
BALDONI DIDN’T MEET LEGAL BURDEN, JUDGE SAYS
Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit accused Lively, her husband and fellow actor Ryan Reynolds, and others of trying to smear him and wrest control of the movie.
Liman dismissed that case last June, saying there was no proof Lively defamed Baldoni, and that any alleged defamatory claims she made to a California civil rights agency were protected by privilege.
In Friday’s decision, Liman said the California law was intended to discourage plaintiffs from filing defamation lawsuits to “wear down and silence critics,” and noted that it deemed statements made without malice as privileged.
The judge said the only evidence “arguably” relevant to Lively’s alleged malice came from a deposition of a former talent agent for Baldoni, who used the word “extortion” in an email discussing Lively’s conduct.
“Without more, the Wayfarer parties cannot carry their burden of defeating the … privilege,” Liman wrote. “Lively is entitled to fees and costs.”
The judge said Lively did not deserve triple and punitive damages for what she called Baldoni’s “retaliatory” lawsuit, because a federal rule governing her legal fee claim did not “sweep so broadly” to include them.
“It Ends With Us” starred Lively as a flower shop owner who marries a neurosurgeon played by Baldoni. The movie’s themes included domestic violence. Despite mixed reviews, the movie grossed more than $351 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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