Legal

Blake Lively wants Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer to be on the hook for just north of $8 million in attorneys' fees and court costs after his defamation lawsuit against her was tossed out ... TMZ has learned.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "It Ends With Us" star requests a judge grant her $7,495,526.87 in attorneys’ fees she incurred in fighting his lawsuit, plus $539,514.01 in court costs and expenses incurred while defending herself.

As we told you, Justin's $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake was tossed out ... and a judge recently ruled Justin would need to cover her legal bills, although Blake was turned down in her attempt to get other damages in the case.

Kanye West and his former personal assistant Lauren Pisciotta are nearing an agreement to settle her bombshell lawsuit, which featured sexual harassment allegations and a slew of other disturbing claims.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, counsel for each side met June 4 for mediation and agreed in principle to settle the case. The court took the next hearing off the calendar to give the parties a chance to finalize the deal.

TMZ broke the story ... Lauren sued Ye in June 2024, claiming he fired her after sending her vile sexual texts and videos. One alleged text read, "See my problem is I be wanting to f*** but then after I f*** I want a girl to tell me how hard they been f***ed while I'm f***ing them. Then I want her to cheat on me."

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's NDA for wedding guests may look intimidating ... but TMZ has learned it doesn't have much bite, because guests who violate it won't face any obvious financial punishment.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the electronic non-disclosure agreement sent to guests does not include a monetary penalty -- or any other punishment for that matter -- if one dared to violate the agreement.

We're also told there's no film release attached, meaning guests weren't asked to sign away their rights to appear on camera -- making a wedding streaming special or documentary seem pretty unlikely.

As TMZ first reported ... between 1,100 and 1,200 guests are expected at Madison Square Garden July 3 to celebrate the couple tying the knot.

The NDA is just one piece of an elaborate security plan.

Dianna Russini is in hot water again ... but this time it's not for holding hands with an NFL coach ... but for seemingly not telling the truth about what happened during a traffic stop.

Here's the scoop ... in January, the former NFL reporter for The Athletic got pulled over by a police officer for using her phone while driving in New Jersey. Their subsequent interaction was caught on body cam video that was posted Monday on X by Adam Herbets of Center Square. 

In the clip, the officer walks up to Russini's vehicle and asks for her license and registration.  Russini introduces herself as an NFL journalist who just broke a story about Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott getting fired, saying she was sending a tweet about it before she was stopped.

Bad Bunny's record label passed out freebies to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for a concert in Puerto Rico -- worth over $4,000, according to official documents.

TMZ obtained Sotomayor's annual financial disclosure, showing that the justice was given $4,333 worth of tickets by Rimas Entertainment for herself and guests while they were on a private trip to Puerto Rico in August 2025. Bunny's manager, Noah Assad, founded Rimas, which also represents a bunch of other Latin music artists. 

It's not clear from the disclosure whether Sotomayor and Co. attended a Bunny concert or a show for another Rimas musician. Yet, during August 2025, Bunny hit the stage in Puerto Rico for a slew of performances.

Gabbie Gonzalez's alleged accomplice Kai Cordrey says he's doesn't have nearly enough cash to post bond ... so now he's asking a judge to slash his $2 Million bail to an amount he says he can actually afford.

According to new court docs, obtained by TMZ, Cordrey -- one of the three defendants charged in the alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting singer Jack Avery -- wants his bail reduced from $2 Million to $100,000 ... claiming he's been stuck behind bars since May solely because he doesn't have the money to get out.

As TMZ previously reported, prosecutors allege Gabbie, her father Francisco Gonzalez and Cordrey conspired to have Avery killed during a bitter custody battle over the daughter they share. Prosecutors claim the trio explored hiring a hitman through the dark web, and all three have pleaded not guilty.

Olympic gold medalist Apolo Ohno is dragging his ex-girlfriend Anna Pham to court for refusing to return his personal property, TMZ has learned. 

Apolo filed a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, claiming Anna has hundreds of items of personal and business property ... including studio and audio-production equipment, photographic and video equipment, electronics, apparel, a firearm, and computer hard drives containing irreplaceable content ... plus Olympic race and training footage, documentary footage held for future commercial sale, an unpublished book manuscript and personal Olympic photographs. 

The athlete claims the relationship ended in 2023, but they remained friends throughout most of 2024.

"America's Next Top Model" winner Eva Marcille is siding with Tyra Banks in her lawsuit against Netflix ... and Eva's hoping Tyra walks away with a huge payday.

We got Eva at LAX on Monday ... and our photog asked her about Tyra's defamation suit against the streaming giant.

Eva is firmly Team Tyra, telling us ... "Get your money, Black woman. Do your thing."

Eva's comments here stand in stark contrast to Adrianne Curry, the original 'ANTM' winner, who venomously responded to Tyra's claims.

Damien O'Brien and Jessica O'Brien -- the Michigan couple charged with murdering their obese 7-year-old son -- are apparently receiving better treatment in prison than they allegedly provided to their own child.

The O'Briens are enjoying a seemingly cozy experience behind bars, despite being held without bond for allegedly neglecting Casper O'Brien, who prosecutors say was 225 pounds when he died.

Jason Gould, a member of the Genesse County Sheriff's Office, tells us ... the parents are served three meals a day with a rotating menu. Breakfast is a choice of cereal, oatmeal, toast, or scrambled eggs ... lunch can be sandwiches or burgers ... and dinner can be a number of different food options like pizza, tacos, and pasta.

We're told each inmate is assured the right amount of calories and nutrition in each meal ... something prosecutors say Casper's parents failed to provide at home, where they allegedly fed him nothing but potato chips and french fries.

Josh Duggar keeps playing prison hopscotch, jumping from one penitentiary to another, with his latest stop at a federal lockup in Oklahoma ... and his lawyer is calling all the moves "punitive."

The ex-reality star was recently transferred to FTC Oklahoma City after a short stay at FMC Fort Worth in Texas. Before that, Josh was cooling his heels in FCI Seagoville, also in Texas, where he was initially sent after his 2021 conviction for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. 

Josh's lawyer, Beau Brindley, tells TMZ ... Josh's transfers from prison to prison are all "punitive," stemming from correctional officers allegedly violating the rules by opening Josh's legal mail at Seagoville.

Detroit Lions star Terrion Arnold just caught a huge break in his kidnapping case -- he will NOT remain behind bars as he awaits his trial, a judge ruled on Monday.

Arnold appeared at a pretrial detention hearing in Hillsborough County, Florida ... where both sides broke down the serious allegations made against the 23-year-old.

While the judge believed there is certainly probable cause, he did not agree with the prosecution that Arnold should be held until trial.

Luigi Mangione was back in court Monday ... this time to learn when his federal trial is going to start ... and he's got about six months to prepare.

Judge Garnett told the court a November start date isn't going to work, "given jury selection" ... so, instead, the trial was pushed to January.

The judge announced jury selection will start January 5 -- calling in about 40 to 50 people per day -- and opening statements will begin on January 25. Assistant United States Attorney Dominic A. Gentile moved to exclude a speedy trial.

A Pennsylvania man is under investigation in the disappearance of at least one woman after federal authorities arrested him on gun charges and found a letter referencing the late notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.

Eugene Horsch was taken into custody Friday after FBI agents and local police stormed his home in Philadelphia and found hazardous chemicals, several firearms, ammunition, and an alleged handwritten note mentioning Bundy ... Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore announced at a news conference.

Vanore says investigators also discovered a 55-gallon drum, a bunch of urns, and secret compartments inside Horsch's home. The probe was triggered on June 19, when a U.S. Park Ranger said they overheard a heated argument between Horsch and his girlfriend in a parked car.

Tom Sandoval and ex Victoria Lee Robinson's breakup drama came with an encore ... because police were called back to his house just hours after their first visit.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers responded to Tom's Los Angeles home around 5:30 PM Saturday after Victoria attempted to return ... telling cops she had a friend there to pick up more of her belongings, but Tom wasn't letting them.

We're told officers showed up simply to keep the peace, and nobody was arrested.

Sources tell us Tom had believed Victoria was planning to come back to the house ... but sources close to Victoria tell us that's not the case, insisting she intended to send a mover named Miguel instead.

Taylor Parker may be on death row ... but while she was in jail awaiting trial she was still playing a doting mother to her daughter over the phone -- and TMZ has the audio.

Take a listen to a prison call -- obtained by TMZ from the Bowie County Court -- between Parker, her daughter Emersyn and her mother, Shona Prior ... the conversation is a far cry from the horrifying case that landed Parker on Texas' death row. Instead of murder and fetal abductions, they're talking campfires, thunderstorms, and early Christmas presents.

The call captures Emersyn excitedly describing sapphire-and-diamond jewelry she received as an early gift ... while also telling her mom that her younger brother, Trey, got a cross chain. Parker reacts like any proud parent ... before the jail's automated system cuts in to warn the call is about to end.

Chicago rap veteran Twista has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors accused him of dodging hundreds of thousands of dollars in income taxes over multiple years.

According to court docs filed this week, the 52-year-old, born Carl Mitchell, entered a guilty plea last month in U.S. District Court ... admitting to five counts of willfully failing to pay income tax.

Federal prosecutors say Twista failed to pay income taxes from 2019 through 2023 despite earning income from performances, streaming royalties, album sales, and music licensing.