Blake Lively is seeking more than $8 million in legal fees and costs from her former co-star Justin Baldoni, according to court documents filed in New York. The filing, submitted on Monday, details a request for $7,495,526.87 in attorneys' fees and an additional $539,514.01 in litigation costs and expenses.
Lively's legal team stated that the extensive work was necessary to successfully defend against Baldoni's defamation lawsuit, which has since been dismissed. The attorneys noted that their client has been paying her legal bills and will seek reimbursement for any further expenses incurred related to this fee request.
The court documents also highlighted that significant press attention, resulting in thousands of media articles, contributed to the increased legal costs. Lively's team reported producing over 7,000 documents since the legal dispute began.
Lively previously won a bid to seek legal fees from Baldoni earlier this month. However, her request for triple and punitive damages was denied, though she may pursue these through other legal avenues. Judge Lewis J. Liman has ordered Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios to respond to Lively's fee request by July 13. The judge will then determine whether to award the full amount, a reduced sum, or deny the request entirely.
In May, Lively and Baldoni settled a lawsuit that originated from allegations of sexual harassment on the set of their film "It Ends With Us." The settlement occurred two weeks before their trial was scheduled to commence on May 18. Both parties' legal teams claimed victory following the resolution. Sources indicated that the legal teams collectively earned approximately $60 million through the proceedings, though neither Lively nor Baldoni received monetary damages in the settlement.