Blake Lively demands $8M in legal fees from Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively demands $8M in legal fees from Justin Baldoni

Hollywood actor Blake Lively has filed a motion seeking $8 million in attorney fees and costs from actor-director Justin Baldoni.

The move comes after she accused him of sexual harassment on the set of their 2024 film It Ends With Us.

In response, Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios had filed a $400 million defamation suit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, claiming they used false harassment allegations to gain control over the film.

Lively's attorneys detail costs incurred during litigation

Lively's legal team has detailed the costs incurred during the 18-month-long litigation against Baldoni.

The $8 million fee request covers only a small portion of the total legal costs.

It does not include expenses from Lively's own lawsuit, which involved extensive depositions, document reviews, and public relations efforts.

Her attorneys argued that granting the fees would discourage retaliatory and baseless lawsuits against accusers.

Breakdown of legal fees charged to Lively

Lively's lawyers have disclosed that they charged her nearly $7.5 million in attorney fees from two law firms and about $5,00,000 in other expenses.

One of her lawyers, Michael Gottlieb, revealed he usually charges $2,795 per hour but gave Lively a discount to $2,187 per hour.

He billed 224 hours for work on her defense to Baldoni's countersuit, totaling $4,57,000 in fees.