Baldwin’s lawsuit against Costner over BP deal begins

Two Hollywood stars could spend the next two weeks in a New Orleans courtroom on opposing sides in a legal drama.

Jury selection was scheduled yesterday for Stephen Baldwin’s federal lawsuit against fellow actor Kevin Costner over their investments in a device BP used in trying to clean up the huge Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Both are expected to testify.

The lawsuit claims that Costner and a business partner duped Baldwin and a friend, Spyridon Contogouris, out of their shares of an $18m (€14.4m) deal for BP to buy centrifuges — which separate oil from water — after the Apr 2010 spill.

Both Baldwin and Contogouris said they did not know about the deal when they agreed to sell their shares of Ocean Therapy Solutions — a firm that marketed the centrifuges to BP — for $1.4m and $500,000 respectively.

BP ordered 32 of the centrifuges and deployed a few on a barge in June 2010. BP capped its blown-out Macondo well in July 2010 and kept more oil from leaking until the well was permanently sealed in Sept 2010.

Both Baldwin and Contogouris claim they were deliberately excluded from a June 8 meeting between Costner, his business partner Patrick Smith, and BP executive Doug Suttles, who agreed to make an $18m deposit on a $52m order for the 32 devices.

Later that month, Costner and Suttles visited LA to talk about the plan to use the centrifuges.

Both Baldwin and Contogouris say they were entitled to shares of BP’s deposit. Their lawsuit claims Costner and Smith schemed to use BP’s deposit to buy their shares in OTS.

Costner said he did not attend a meeting at which Contogouris agreed to sell his OTS interests.

Both Baldwin and Contogouris are seeking over $21m in damages.

Costner and other defendants are also seeking damages in counterclaims.