{"id":780505,"date":"2026-05-07T21:35:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T21:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/780505\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T21:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T21:35:17","slug":"blake-lively-sees-attorney-fee-motion-as-act-of-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/780505\/","title":{"rendered":"Blake Lively Sees Attorney Fee Motion as Act of Advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBlake Lively<\/a> agreed to settle her claims against Justin Baldoni<\/a>\u2018s Wayfarer Studios on Monday, but her legal battle continues in the form of a motion for attorney fees resulting from Baldoni\u2019s failed defamation suit against her.<\/p>\n

\n\tLively filed the motion last September under a 2023 California law that seeks to protect sexual abuse accusers from \u201cweaponized\u201d defamation suits. That motion was the one piece of the legal feud left unresolved<\/a> by the settlement.<\/p>\n

\n\tHer lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said Thursday that the motion gives Lively a platform to advocate on behalf of those who face the threat of defamation suits for speaking out.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt allows her to help pave the way here,\u201d McCawley told Variety. \u201cThis is really a space where she\u2019s been able to do some great good for survivors, and she wants to continue that work. This is about so much more to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLively alleged that Baldoni, her co-star and director in the 2024 film \u201cIt Ends With Us<\/a>,\u201d sexually harassed her on set and, after she complained, retaliated against her in the form of a digital whisper campaign. Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of Lively\u2019s 13 claims last month, and the two sides issued a joint statement on Monday in lieu of taking the remaining claims to a federal trial.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard,\u201d they said. \u201cWe remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments. It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBaldoni\u2019s team, led by Bryan Freedman, has since taken a victory lap<\/a> in a series of YouTube appearances, calling the deal a win for Baldoni. Lively\u2019s attorneys issued their own statement on Thursday morning, calling the settlement \u201ca resounding victory for Blake Lively.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThough any fee award remains speculative, her side noted that Baldoni\u2019s lawyers had agreed to abide by Liman\u2019s ruling and will not appeal.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt is a significant victory in that regard,\u201d McCawley said. \u201cIt positions her in a way where she can continue doing what she was trying to do, which is to expose the significant retaliatory conduct of these parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBaldoni\u2019s side challenged that interpretation, noting that Lively\u2019s harassment and defamation claims were dismissed by the judge and that she has since dropped the remaining retaliation and breach of contract claims in the settlement.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis case started with her seeking $300 million and seeking a sexual harassment claim against Justin Baldoni and (Wayfarer CEO) Jamie Heath,\u201d Freedman told Variety. \u201cOn April 2 that was gone\u2026 That\u2019s when the victory happened. I\u2019m not sure what we\u2019re arguing about at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLively\u2019s side argues that they have already established the points required to claim damages and attorney fees under the California law, known as the Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act. The law requires that the sex abuse accuser have a \u201creasonable basis\u201d for making her claims. By agreeing to a joint statement acknowledging that Lively\u2019s allegations \u201cdeserved to be heard,\u201d her team argues that Baldoni\u2019s side has already conceded the point.<\/p>\n

\n\tBaldoni\u2019s team has argued that the law should not apply because the conduct at issue took place in New York and New Jersey \u2014 not California. Lively\u2019s team has argued that her original administrative complaint was filed with the California Department of Civil Rights, and that therefore the California law does apply.<\/p>\n

\n\tLively is also said to be advocating for the Speak Your Truth Act, a pending bill in the New York State Legislature that would mirror the California law.<\/p>\n

\n\tBoth sides are expected to offer additional briefing on the motion. If he finds it warranted, Liman could order a hearing to determine damages, at which experts and perhaps even Lively might testify.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis was a horrific thing she had to live through, and she\u2019s been so brave,\u201d McCawley said. \u201cThis is really the icing on the cake in so many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFreedman was dismissive of that notion.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is just a ministerial function of whether someone is going to get fees or not,\u201d he said. \u201cMy assumption would be that Judge Liman has much more important things on the docket than holding an evidentiary hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Blake Lively agreed to settle her claims against Justin Baldoni\u2018s Wayfarer Studios on Monday, but her legal battle…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":780506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[45511,185,171,74502,34615,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-780505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-blake-lively","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-it-ends-with-us","12":"tag-justin-baldoni","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116535448648235656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}