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Blake Lively's 39th birthday ended with a shocking note as she received an upsetting update in the Justin Baldoni case.
On Wednesday, August 26th, the Gossip Girl alum was awarded more than $400,000 after she requested $8 million for her attorney's charges in her 18-month legal battle with her It Ends with Us co-star.
Judge Lewis Liman awarded more than $400,000 in attorneys' fees in a ruling, as she was entitled to only "reasonable" fees.
Notably, the judge found that her lawyers' billing rates were "not unreasonable" in a case of this complexity, but "the number of hours for which Lively seeks reimbursement is unreasonable."
"Lively has submitted the declaration of a purported attorney fee expert who has reviewed the billing records; Lively has not submitted the invoices themselves," Liman added.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's legal battle
For those unaware, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have been involved in a long-running legal battle since December 2024.
In the lawsuit, The Shallows starlet accused him of sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment on the set of domestic abuse drama It Ends With Us; the director filed a counter-defamation lawsuit against Lively the following month.
However, in May of this year, they settled their dispute just weeks before it went to trial, with only the issue of attorneys' fees and costs remaining. Today's ruling draws a line under their long legal battle.
In July, Justin Baldoni and his wife, Emily Baldoni, spoke out about the "injustice and pain" they said had endured as part of the legal battle.
"We've had to wrestle with so many things and try to understand so many things, like, how could something like this even happen? Let alone disguised as a fight for women," they added.
So far, Blake Lively has not reacted to the latest ruling of the court.
