Overview
- Lively filed a federal fee petition seeking $8,035,040.88, itemized as about $7.495 million in attorney fees and roughly $539,514 in costs and expenses.
- The filing, made in late June and reported from court documents, follows a June ruling by Judge Lewis J. Liman that Lively may pursue fee recovery under California’s Section 47.1.
- The underlying defamation counterclaim by Baldoni and Wayfarer for roughly $400 million was dismissed and the parties reached a confidential settlement in May that left fee recovery unresolved.
- Judge Liman ordered Baldoni and Wayfarer to respond to Lively’s petition by July 13, 2026 before the court decides whether to grant, reduce, or deny the requested amount.
- Lively’s lawyers argue heavy media attention and voluminous discovery drove the costs, while Baldoni’s counsel has downplayed the claim, making the decision a possible test of the new fee-shifting law for harassment-related reports.