NEW YORK — Justin Baldoni is calling on a federal New York judge to “significantly reduce” the $8 million in legal fees he and the Wayfarer Studios have been ordered to pay Blake Lively, following the settlement of their “It Ends With Us” legal case.

Baldoni, 42, and his production company on Monday pushed back against the “excessive” attorneys’ fees incurred by the 38-year-old “Gossip Girl” star in the nearly 18-month legal battle, according to court documents obtained by People.

Among the elements that make the actress’ bid “anything but a typical fee motion,” Baldoni and co. point to “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,” reads the filing. The document also references the more than 7,000 billable hours billed by 82 timekeepers.

Lively and the Wayfarer Parties have legally been at odds since December 2024 when she accused her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director Baldoni of alleged sexual harassment on the film’s set, as well as a retaliatory smear campaign. Baldoni denied any wrongdoing and sued The New York Times for $250 million, alleging their coverage of Lively’s claims amounted to libel. He then filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively’s camp for defamation.

Judge Lewis J. Liman eventually tossed both of Baldoni’s suits. Lively’s filing was still headed for trial in May with 10 of her 13 claims dismissed, including those regarding sexual harassment and defamation, until she and the Wayfarer Parties finally settled. No money was awarded, though Lively still sought coverage of attorneys’ fees.

The latest filing comes just over a month after Liman determined the Wayfarer Parties must cover $8 million in Lively’s legal fees, but stopped short of ruling the same for punitive or treble damages, according to legal documents obtained at the time by the Daily News.

The Wayfarer Parties in Monday’s filing asked the court to, if not outright deny Lively’s motion, then “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.”

Speaking to People, a Lively insider reasoned that, contrary to the case with Baldoni, the Times case did not include a drawn out discovery process.

Just last week, Baldoni and his wife Emily broke their silence on the “injustice and the pain” they experienced amid the legal battle.

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