Overview

• Lively filed a motion seeking attorneys’ fees, treble damages and punitive damages after Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million defamation suit in June.
• Her filing invokes California’s Protecting Survivors from Weaponized Defamation Lawsuits Act (AB 933), which shields qualified reports and includes fee-shifting and enhanced damages.
• A new redacted declaration alleges repeated negative interactions and verbal abuse by Baldoni on a separate project, with sources saying the individual is likely to testify at the March 2026 trial.
• Baldoni’s lawyers argue the California statute does not apply, contend Lively fabricated her claims, and warn that applying the law would chill Petition Clause rights and bypass disputed facts.
• Judge Liman has not ruled on AB 933’s applicability; his June order also tossed related claims, including Baldoni’s libel case against The New York Times, as discovery continues toward trial.