Actress Blake Lively has requested nearly $8 million in legal fees from director Justin Baldoni in a Manhattan federal court filing on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
The request follows the recent settlement of their legal dispute over the film "It Ends With Us."
The multi-million dollar demand includes approximately $7.5 million in attorney's fees distributed between two law firms, along with roughly $500,000 in additional litigation expenses.
According to court documents, Lively's legal team disclosed the total figures after a judge ruled she is entitled to recover certain costs from Baldoni's dismissed countersuit.
The application comes after a settlement reached last month between the two co-stars, just before a scheduled trial over claims that Baldoni attempted to damage Lively's public reputation.
While the initial settlement provided no monetary payout to Lively, Judge Lewis J.
Liman later ruled she could seek specific legal costs under a California statutes framework protecting individuals from retaliatory litigation.
Lively's legal team criticized the defense strategies used by the opposing party during the protracted conflict.
"They could have ended it (and offered to reimburse Lively) at any time.
Having refused to do so, they should be ordered to reimburse Lively for all of the costs, attorney's fees, and expenses they improperly forced her to incur," wrote Lively's lawyers.
The filing specifies that $4.5 million is designated for Willkie Farr & Gallagher, while approximately $3 million is directed toward Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP.
Attorney Michael Gottlieb, representing Lively, submitted a formal declaration outlining his billable hours and professional rates applied to the defense against the countersuit.
Lively's lawyers wrote that the opposing side "employed scorched-earth litigation tactics designed to drain Lively's resources."
The legal conflict originated in December 2024 when Lively, 38, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, 42, and Wayfarer Studios LLC, alleging a coordinated effort with publicists to compromise her credibility after she raised internal allegations of sexual harassment on the movie set.
Baldoni subsequently counter-sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist for defamation and extortion, claiming the accusations were fabricated to gain creative control over the film production.
Judge Liman dismissed Baldoni's countersuit last year and later dismissed Lively's initial harassment claims on the basis that her status as an independent contractor precluded those specific claims.
The final financial amount requested by Lively remains subject to official judicial approval.
