Federal Jury Sides with Kevin Costner in Stephen Baldwin's $17M Suit Over Oil Spill Cleanup Machines
Kevin Costner. s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
Stephen Baldwin. s_bukley / Shutterstock.com
A federal jury in New Orleans sided with Kevin Costner in a lawsuit brought by fellow actor Stephen Baldwin over his investment in an oil spill cleanup machine venture that earned millions for the Field of Dreams, Bodyguard and Dances With Wolves star.
“My name means more to me than money, and that’s why we didn’t settle,” Costner said after the jury decided that Baldwin, who with his business partner had sought $17 million from Costner and his business partner, was owed nothing, according to the Associated Press and Reuters.
The grim-faced Baldwin referred questions to his attorney, James Cobb, who when asked if he thought celebrity was a factor in this case, said “I believe we proved our case and [that] the bigger celebrity won.”
The plaintiffs contended they would have sought a much bigger payment than the nearly $2 million, total, they received for their shares in Ocean Therapy Solutions had they known that the BP oil company was on the verge of entering into a $52 million contract to purchase the machines after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. However, Costner’s counsel said the plaintiffs were fully informed and took what they could get at a time when the contract was far from a certainty.
Costner praised a “really smart” jury for understanding a complex case and said: “It was my good luck that they saw the truth of the story.”
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Trial Looms in Legal Battle of Actors Kevin Costner and Stephen Baldwin re Oil Spill Cleanup Machine”
