politics
Blake Lively awarded $400,000 of $8m she claimed for legal fees in Justin Baldoni battle
Actress Blake Lively has been awarded $400,000 (£340,000) of the $8m (£6.9m) she tried to claim from her former co-star Justin Baldoni to cover her legal fees and costs to fight a defamation case he brought.
TL;DR
- Blake Lively was awarded $400,000 of $8 million claimed for legal fees and costs related to a defamation case brought by Justin Baldoni.
- A judge dismissed Baldoni's defamation complaint, after which Lively sued him for sexual harassment and retaliation, leading to his countersuit.
- The judge reduced Lively's claim, stating she requested money for more people and time than necessary and took a 'blunderbuss approach' to calculating costs.
- The award was made under a 2023 California law protecting sexual harassment accusers from retaliatory defamation lawsuits.
- Both Lively's and Baldoni's legal teams claimed the ruling as a victory.