Justin Baldoni has requested a federal judge either “substantially reduce” Blake Lively’s more than $8 million in attorneys’ fees and litigation costs or completely reject the actress’s request.
According to a filing forwarded on July 13, the actor and producer and Wayfarer Studios mentioned the Gossip Girl alum’s request as an “anything but a typical fee motion,” and that her legal team charged “excessive” fees per hour.
Baldoni’s filing also detailed that Lively has requested more fees compared to a similar case from The New York Times, when he filed a defamation case against the outlet for reporting that he and his PR team had engaged in a “smear campaign” against Lively.
His legal team argued that the publisher only sought $181,622.70 in attorneys’ fees in a “motion to dismiss precisely the same defamation claim.”
Moreover, the Monday filing alleges, “The most cursory review of Lively’s submission shows multiple lawyers at the same hearings, numerous charges for lawyers conferencing, conferring, or strategizing with one another, and to put it mildly, extremely excessive research and online investigation.”
The filing also called Lively’s requests for attorney’s fees, which are “$539,514.01 in costs and expenses” a “whopping” amount.
Baldoni and his team continued to ask the federal judge either to completely dismiss Lively’s request or reduce the amount.
“Lively fails to meet her burden to present credible evidence showing that the fees and costs she seeks to recover are reasonable and, accordingly, her fee motion should be denied in its entirety,” the filing alleges.
“At minimum, the Court should substantially reduce the request, using as a benchmark the $181,622.70 the Times sought after securing dismissal of Count II on its separate motion to dismiss – the same outcome Lively achieved.”
T