Judge Lewis J. Liman has ordered Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios to pay the legal fees for Blake Lively following their resolved defamation dispute related to the film It Ends With Us.The ruling utilizes California law to protect survivors from retaliatory lawsuits, though the judge denied Lively’s request for additional punitive damages.While the parties previously reached a private settlement in May 2026, the court-ordered payment of defense costs marks a significant final determination in the high-profile legal clash.Legal representatives for the parties continue to dispute the total financial impact of the litigation after years of intense public scrutiny.