It Ends With Less
Judge decides to invoke law that limits how much survivors of sexual harassment can collect in final resolution of It Ends With Us suits
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Justin Baldoni must pay Blake Lively a little more than $400,000 of the $8 million she sought for attorneys’ fees, according to The Associated Press. The judgment follows the settlement Baldoni and Lively reached following lawsuits related to Baldoni’s alleged misconduct on the set of It Ends With Us.
She is now to receive $363,245.40 in lawyers’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs. Her lawyers previously requested $7,495,526.87 in fees and and $539,514.01 in costs and expenses.
Judge Lewis J. Liman, who wrote his decision in Manhattan, said that a California law limits the amount of legal fees Lively could recoup. The law was meant to protect survivors of sexual harassment and discrimination from retaliatory lawsuits. He interpreted the law to mean that Baldoni would reimburse her only for what she paid to defend herself against defamation claims, rather than every claim Baldoni lodged at her.
