Blake Lively Awarded $400K in Attorneys' Fees For Justin Baldoni Case
Blake Lively Comes Up Short with $400K!!! Wanted $8 Mil from Baldoni
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Blake Lively is not getting her enormous wish -- $8 million in attorneys' fees -- because a judge just ruled Justin Baldoni will only have to fork over $400K ... TMZ has learned.
As you know ... a judge dismissed Justin Baldoni's defamation lawsuit against Blake and the New York Times in June, but ruled she was entitled to attorneys' fees for defeating the claim.
Blake asked a judge to award her $8 million -- claiming Justin owed her $7,495,526.87 in fees she incurred in fighting his lawsuit and $539,514.01 in costs and expenses incurred while defending herself.
Justin called BS on the claim ... telling a judge she massively overinflated the dollar amount and he should have to pay a six-figure sum -- not seven.
The judge agreed, awarding Blake $363,245.40 in attorney's fees and another $44,206.35 in costs.
Blake's lawyers Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb tell TMZ ... "Justin Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties lost their meritless retaliatory $400 million lawsuit, which two different courts held was designed to stifle public criticism and silence Blake Lively and others. This first-ever award of fees and costs under this California law is historic, and demonstrates that there are real consequences of bringing retaliatory lawsuits. As we have said from day one, Blake Lively’s case was never about money – it was about accountability."
They added ... "As the recent news in the Rebel Wilson/Amanda Ghost case demonstrated, Blake Lively’s lawsuit exposed an industry of secret online smear campaigns that largely target women, and unsurprisingly involve the same players. She lifted the curtain for other victims, and set the precedent for others to come forward and expose similar conduct. This result demonstrates that the legal system is not as easily manipulated as social media, and still functions as a force for accountability."
This seems to be the last bit of legal business between Blake and Justin still hanging after the two settled their lawsuit prior to what would have been a very messy trial scheduled to start in May.
No money changed hands in the settlement ... but Lively dropped the sexual harassment claims against Justin.
A joint statement was released after they reached a settlement, which reads, in part, "We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard. We remain firmly committed to workplaces free of improprieties and unproductive environments."
