Overview
- Federal Judge Lewis J. Liman issued the fee order on Aug. 26, 2026, directing Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to pay Blake Lively $407,451.75 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
- The award breaks down to $363,245.40 for attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs, far below the roughly $8 million Lively had sought.
- Liman reduced the request after finding many billed hours excessive and rejecting some items, including certain media-relations expenses.
- The judge applied California’s 2023 Section 47.1, a law that can let people recovering from retaliatory defamation suits recoup some legal costs, but the statute did not resolve the parties’ factual disputes.
- The decision finishes the outstanding financial question left after the May 2026 settlement and leaves open the wider reputational and personal consequences for both parties following years of public litigation.