Blake Lively filed a motion seeking spoliation sanctions against Justin Baldoni’s team, identified in court records as the Wayfarer Parties. The Southern District of New York confirmed that a bottom-line order was issued on January 16, 2026, but the court record reviewed here does not establish whether the judge granted or denied the request. A later award of legal fees and costs to Lively was a separate ruling—not the outcome of the sanctions motion.
What Lively asked the court to do
Lively’s motion, listed as docket entry 862, sought spoliation sanctions against the Wayfarer Parties. Spoliation generally concerns the loss or destruction of evidence relevant to a legal dispute; the motion was a request for a court remedy, not itself a finding that evidence was improperly lost or destroyed. The court’s January 20, 2026 opinion concerning sealing and unsealing court materials confirms that Judge Lewis J. Liman issued a bottom-line order on the motion on January 16. The opinion does not state the substantive result, so it does not support saying sanctions were granted, denied, or imposed. SDNY opinion, January 20, 2026.
How the motion fits into the case
Lively’s lawsuit
Lively filed an administrative complaint with the California Civil Rights Department on December 20, 2024, then sued Baldoni and other Wayfarer Parties in federal court in New York on December 31, 2024. Her complaint included claims such as sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, and emotional distress. These were allegations, not findings that the defendants had committed the alleged conduct. Baldoni denied harassing Lively or orchestrating a smear campaign and disputed her account. SDNY opinion, August 26, 2026.
The Wayfarer Parties’ separate lawsuit
The Wayfarer Parties later sued Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane, Vision PR, and the New York Times. On June 9, 2025, the court dismissed their amended complaint, permitting amendment only on limited contract-related theories. The Wayfarer Parties did not file another amended complaint, according to the court’s August 2026 account. This was a separate procedural track from Lively’s sanctions motion.
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Settlement and later fee proceedings
The parties settled in May 2026 before trial. That settlement ended the trial-bound dispute, but a separate question remained: whether Lively could recover legal fees and costs connected to the defamation claims against her. In June, the court determined that she could seek fees and costs under California Civil Code § 47.1, but not compensatory or punitive damages, and set a process for deciding the amount. That fee proceeding did not decide the January sanctions motion. SDNY opinion, August 26, 2026.
How much Lively received in fees and costs
On August 26, 2026, Judge Liman awarded Lively $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs, for a combined $407,451.75. She had requested $8,035,040.88: $7,495,526.87 in fees and $539,514.01 in costs. The court’s award was a partial grant of that request. SDNY opinion and order, August 26, 2026. The Associated Press described the award as just over $400,000 compared with roughly $8 million sought. Associated Press coverage.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep the three outcomes distinct
- January 2026: The court confirmed that it issued a bottom-line order on Lively’s spoliation-sanctions motion. The reviewed opinion does not disclose whether the motion succeeded.
- May 2026: The parties settled before trial.
- August 2026: The court partially granted Lively’s separate request for attorneys’ fees and costs, awarding $407,451.75 combined.
These proceedings do not establish that Lively’s allegations were proven at trial; there was no trial, and the fee award was not a sanctions ruling.
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