Blake Lively Seeks Nearly $8 Million in Legal Fees After Justin Baldoni’s Defamation Suit Dismissed

Actor Blake Lively has asked a judge to order Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to pay nearly $8 million in legal fees and costs she says she spent defending herself against Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit, Variety said.

According to the publication, the latest update has come just after a dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million defamation suit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

The lawsuit was filed after Lively accused her ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star and director of sexually harassing her on the film’s set and running an online campaign against her after she raised complaints.

Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios denied the allegations and claimed Lively and Reynolds used false harassment claims to take control of the film. However, the court later dismissed the defamation suit, ruling that Lively’s allegations were protected under litigation privilege.

Although Lively later dropped her own lawsuit against Baldoni and others before the trial began, the settlement did not involve any financial payment. She was, however, allowed to continue seeking reimbursement for the legal costs she incurred while defending against the defamation case, according to Variety.

According to court documents filed on Monday, Lively’s legal team said she was billed $7.5 million in attorney fees, with hourly rates reaching $2,187, along with another $540,000 in legal expenses. Her lawyers argued that awarding the fees would help discourage retaliatory lawsuits against people who come forward with allegations. In the filing, Lively’s lawyers, as per Variety, wrote, “This gross abuse of the legal system was not meant to win in court — its aim was to retaliate against Lively by falsely branding her a liar, intimidating witnesses and the media, and discouraging others from speaking out.”

After the judge’s earlier ruling, Lively’s lead attorneys, Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson, welcomed the decision, saying, “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. 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.” (ANI)

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