A settled case that isn’t quite settled. A pop star who finally gets her house. A mob grandson with a very on-brand arrest. Renowned California personal injury attorney Frederick W. Penney and his co-hosts — family law attorney and mediator Denise Dirks and criminal defense attorney Todd Kuhnen — covered all of it on the June 6 edition of Radio Law Talk, along with a Texas artist taking on FIFA and a reality TV star who just got her kids back.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni: The Case That Won’t Close
The headline said “settled.” The courtroom said: not so fast.
The Attorney’s Fees Fight
The lawsuit between Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni reached a settlement — but Lively’s attorneys are pursuing attorney’s fees under California Civil Code Section 47.1, which protects people who speak out about sexual harassment or assault from retaliatory lawsuits. Their argument: Baldoni’s defamation counterclaim was dismissed before settlement, Lively is the prevailing party on that claim, and fees should follow.
Todd pushed back. “This is a settlement. How does either side claim to be a prevailing defendant when neither side admitted fault?” Denise countered that since Baldoni’s defamation claim was tossed on the merits, there’s a real argument Lively did prevail — and the fee request has legal teeth. She also flagged the awkward geography: a New York judge being asked to apply California law, without necessarily having experts to walk him through it.
The Judge’s Hint
The judge told Lively’s counsel that her client has the ability to end this by declining to pursue the fees, adding, pointedly, that he wasn’t telling her to do that. Lively’s team declined to take the hint.
Fred called it a lawyer move, not a client move. He offered a solution: award Lively one dollar and close the file. “You win. You get a dollar. That’s over.”
Update: June 12, 2026
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman denied Lively’s claim for punitive damages but ruled she is entitled to attorney’s fees under California Civil Code Section 47.1, finding she was the prevailing defendant on Baldoni’s defamation counterclaim. The exact amount has not been disclosed. Baldoni’s attorney pushed back, calling it “limited attorney fees for a single claim” and maintaining there was no harassment, no retaliation, and no smear campaign.
The ruling lands almost exactly as Penney and his co-hosts mapped it out: the legal argument was there, the judge confirmed it, and the case that wouldn’t close is now a little closer to done.
The Gotti Name Stays in the News
John Gotti — the original Teflon Don — died in federal prison in June 2002. His grandson, Carmine Gotti Agnello Jr., is making headlines of his own.
Carmine had already pleaded guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud and was facing 15 months in federal prison. Then on April 20, he was charged in New York with criminal mischief, assault, and — in what stopped the panel cold — criminal obstruction of breathing, stemming from an alleged altercation with a 29-year-old woman. Todd had never encountered that charge by name. With a federal sentence already pending, the timing couldn’t be worse.
Katy Perry Wins $3 Million in Attorney’s Fees Over Montecito Mansion
The house saga is wrapping up — and Katy Perry came out ahead.
The Deal That Went Sideways
In 2020, Perry purchased a $15 million Montecito mansion from a seller named Westcott through an LLC — standard practice for high-profile buyers who don’t want the price inflated once their identity is known. After closing, Westcott tried to rescind, claiming he lacked mental capacity due to Huntington’s disease. The court found him competent to have made the deal.
The Awards
Perry was previously awarded approximately $2.795 million for rental income lost while the fight dragged on; Chris Pratt had wanted to rent the property but couldn’t. The latest ruling added $3 million in attorney’s fees. Westcott’s team had sought $4.5 million for 5,000 billable hours. The court trimmed that considerably.
Denise’s theory on why Westcott really backed out: he found out after the fact that the buyer was Katy Perry, and realized he could have gotten more.
UCLA Loses Anti-SLAPP Motion in Rose Bowl Lawsuit
The Rose Bowl has a contract with UCLA running through 2043. SoFi Stadium — closer to campus, newer, and home to NFL games on Sundays — wants UCLA to make the move. The Rose Bowl sued to block any negotiations toward a relocation. UCLA and SoFi filed an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss. The judge denied it, and noted the motion was filed late to boot.
“You’ve got to look at your timelines,” Fred said. Denise suspected the judge wanted to rub a little salt in the wound. For now, UCLA stays at the Rose Bowl but there’s a lot of contract left before 2043.
Texas Artist Sues FIFA Over Painted-Over Mural
A Dallas artist painted a large whale mural on a building with the owner’s permission. When FIFA came to town and wanted the exterior repainted for promotional use, the mural went with it.
That may have been a legal problem. The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 protects certain works of public art from being altered or destroyed — even by property owners — once the work has become part of the community. Fred noted the parallels to a New York case from about a year ago involving murals on a demolished building. If the Dallas mural qualified for VARA protection, FIFA and the building’s owner may have skipped some required steps. The hosts said they’d be tracking the outcome.
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Radio Law Talk airs live Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific, on RadioLawTalk.com and on radio stations nationwide.
