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The latest chapter in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle unfolded days ago, as Lively notched a victory against her It Ends with Us collaborator. After the pair settled their initial lawsuit disputes, Lively (38) sought damages and attorneys’ fees, much to the chagrin of lawyers for Baldoni (42). A judge ultimately ruled that Lively was entitled to the legal fees but not the damages, though the actress’ reps still touted that as a win on their part. Now, legal experts are sharing their takes on why this ruling doesn’t conclude their case.
Jordan Matthews – an entertainment attorney for Holtz Matthews LLP – recently discussed the Baldoni/Lively situation and shared his thoughts on the recent ruling. It’s Matthew’s contention that Lively “is the clear winner with the court's recent ruling, holding that she is entitled to attorney's fees and that her Section 47.1 privilege applies.” That’s due to the fact that the ruling is derived from the $400 million defamation suit that Baldoni filed against Lively, which the court viewed as “retaliatory.” However, Matthews also says this:
This ruling is still not ‘the end.’ Lively is likely going to file a motion demanding attorney's fees, or the parties are going to release a statement confirming that this issue is settled.
As Matthews mentions to People, the Section 47.1 provision (which was established in California in 2023), was the key to Judge Lewis Liman’s recent ruling. That legal statute was established to protect alleged victims of sexual harassment and allow them the opportunity to hold their purported abusers accountable. As of right now, it remains to be seen if Lively and her legal team will make another legal move after their recent return to court.
Baldoni and Lively’s dispute began back in December 2024 when she filed a complaint against him over alleged sexual harassment on the set of It Ends with Us and a supposed PR smear campaign. In time, both actors filed dueling lawsuits and leveled various claims against each other. Lively saw a win in 2025 when Baldoni’s case was tossed, while he saw a victory when 10 of her 13 claims were dismissed ahead of their planned May trial date. Over a week before the court proceedings, the actors revealed their settlement.
Even though Lively now finds herself in a position to receive lawyers’ fees, attorney Richard Schoenstein – who works for Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP – doesn’t think this is a total victory for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum. Schoenstein argues that “better outcome for Baldoni because it eliminates the possibility of treble damages or punitive damages, which would have been far more significant than the attorneys' fees.” Additionally, Schoenstein points out a key detail he hasn’t seen within Lively’s recent ruling:
I don't see in this ruling that there's been a determination of the amount of attorneys' fees. They need to submit that. She only gets the fees incurred in getting that defamation claim dismissed. She's not going to recover the fees incurred on her own affirmative claims that were dismissed or settled.
Bryan Freedman, Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, also questioned whether the ruling marked a clear victory for Blake Lively. In a statement, Freedman argued that Lively “failed,” because she was only “awarded limited attorney fees for a single claim as part of a case that lasted only a matter of months.” Still, Schoenstein theorized that Baldoni would have to pay up a firm amount of money for the fees and that “it ought to be a six-figure amount.” What that figure will be and whether it’ll lead to another dispute is unclear right now.
