- The legal dispute between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni has returned to a Manhattan federal courtroom, despite a recent settlement agreement concerning Lively's sexual harassment claims related to their 2024 film, It Ends With Us.
- Lively is now seeking attorney fees, which Baldoni's lawyer, Ellyn Garofalo, argues is an attempt to circumvent the settlement and the jury trial that was avoided by the agreement.
- Garofalo stated that Lively's application for fees is inappropriate given she dismissed her claims without Baldoni or his production company paying any of the $300 million in damages she initially sought.
- Lively's attorney, Michael Gottlieb, contends that Baldoni's previous countersuit for defamation and extortion, which was dismissed last year, falls under a California law designed to protect sexual harassment survivors from retaliatory litigation, thus justifying the fee application.
- The original lawsuit involved Lively accusing Baldoni of inappropriate comments and boundary violations during filming, while Baldoni denied the allegations, claiming Lively fabricated complaints to gain creative control; the judge has not yet ruled on the attorney fees application.
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