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A court found on Friday that Blake Lively will have her legal fees paid by Justin Baldoni, but she is not entitled to damages for damages resulting from the defamation lawsuits.
Under the settlement reached last month, Baldoni waived his right to appeal a court order last year dismissing his $400 million lawsuit against Lively. The deal did not include financial compensation but left the door open for the actress to recover her legal costs and pursue damages under a California law intended to protect victims of sexual harassment from retaliatory defamation lawsuits.
The court said that this law “does not create an end to circumvention of the entire set of carefully crafted federal procedural rules designed to protect the rights of parties.”
“It instead creates a narrow exception to the usual litigation process to obtain a specific, limited type of relief,” U.S. District Judge Lewis Lehman wrote in the ruling. “Compensations and punitive damages do not fall within this exception.”
The final legal case in the case is decided after Lively and Baldoni reached an eleventh-hour settlement to avoid a headline-grabbing trial over alleged sexual harassment on set. And it ends with us. Now, the court will assess how much legal fees she should pay, as her lawyers provide a breakdown of their hourly rates and how long they worked on the case.
The bill could be expensive given the pedigree of lawyers Lively has on her legal team, led by heavyweight litigators Michael Gottlieb and Isra Hudson.
“Today’s ruling makes clear that Ms. Lively made her allegations in good faith, that there is no evidence that she acted poorly, and that she is the prevailing defendant” under California law that she affirmed, they said in a statement.
The lawyers added that Lively is grateful to show how the law creates “a path for survivors to hold accountable those who use online attacks and retaliatory lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors.”
Under this law, the actress filed for attorney’s fees, in addition to treble and punitive damages, for the damage resulting from the defamation claims brought by Baldoni. The law, which takes effect in 2024, aims to protect victims of sexual harassment and assault when they report misconduct as long as they have a reasonable basis for their allegations.
In the ruling, the court granted Lively’s request to recover legal fees because she acted “unintentionally” when she filed the sexual misconduct complaint.
“The allegations are insufficient on their own to prove that the statements were actually made intentionally,” the judge wrote. “This determination requires some evidence.”
Lawyers for Baldoni and Wayfarer argued that some of the statements Lively made were misleading, or in some cases, outright false.
“We fought and won against a coordinated effort built on allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and a smear campaign that never happened,” Baldoni’s attorney, Brian Friedman, said in a statement. “Ms. Lively sought more than $300 million in fees and damages, had 10 of her 13 claims denied, then chose to settle and got nothing.”
He added: “Throughout this process, the reputations of innocent people were wrongfully smeared. There was no sexual harassment. There was no retaliation. There was no smear campaign. The court recognized that, the record reflects that, and we have maintained it from the beginning. We will not hesitate to stand up for the truth again.”
While the court denied damages in that case, it left open the possibility for Lively to seek additional damages through another lawsuit or countersuit against Baldoni or Wayfarer, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Read Lively’s full statement below:
Blake Lively won her claim under Article 47.1 of the Civil Code. Today’s ruling makes clear that Ms. Lively made her claims in good faith, that there is no evidence that she acted maliciously, and that she is the prevailing defendant under Section 47.1. The court awarded attorneys’ fees and costs to Ms. Lively and explained that a prevailing defendant under Rule 47.1 may seek damages using various procedural mechanisms. The settlement agreement between the parties expressly reserves Ms. Lively’s rights to recover such damages. Ms. Lively is relieved that her lawsuit shows how Section 47.1 and laws like it create a path for survivors to hold accountable those who use online attacks and retaliation lawsuits to intimidate and silence survivors.
Read Baldoni’s full statement below:
We fought and won against a coordinated effort built on allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, and a smear campaign that never happened. Ms. Lively sought more than $300 million in fees and damages, had 10 of her 13 claims denied, then chose to settle and got nothing.
Although the court dismissed all of her claims of sexual harassment and defamation, Ms. Lively then focused on exploiting a California law designed to protect real victims in what proved to be a fruitless quest for damages. And again, I failed.
My clients were blindsided by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and threatened by a famous movie star, who tried to steal their life’s work and their original reputation. Not only did we succeed in exposing the truth about their actions, but through the continued publication of facts and evidence, we ensured that justice prevailed.
Ms. Lively received only limited attorney’s fees for one claim as part of a case that lasted only months, no more.
Throughout the process, the reputations of innocent people were unfairly tarnished. There was no sexual harassment. There was no revenge. There was no smear campaign. The court recognized it, the record reflects it, and we have maintained it from the beginning. We will not hesitate to stand up for the truth again.
