Whoa!: Yellowstone Stud Kevin Costner Backs Down On Bid To Collect $100k In Legal Fees From Estranged Wife In Nasty Divorce Battle — For Now
Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has agreed to postpone his shocking bid to collect $100k in legal fees from his estranged wife, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The Dances With Wolves star demanded Christine Baumgartner pay his legal bill after she refused to vacate his $145 million Carpinteria, California compound within 30 days after filing for divorce — in violation of an ironclad premarital agreement (PMA).
But Baumgartner, 49, pounced back charging Costner’s powerhouse lawyers, Laura Wasser and Jacqueline Misho were allegedly taking advantage of the Tin Cup actor’s “deep pockets” — and accused him of attempting to enforce a legal fee clause in a PMA that has yet to be ruled valid by a Santa Barbara Superior Court judge.
Court documents exclusively obtained by RadarOnline.com showed the gung-ho Costner has agreed to hold his horses pending a trial later this year to determine the enforceability of the PMA Baumgartner signed before their 2004 marriage.
“(Costner’s request for order) filed July 10, 2023, is off the calendar, subject to refiling after the trial currently scheduled for November and December of 2023,” stated an order signed by Judge Thomas P. Anderle.
The agreement is another victory for Baumgartner, the mother of Costner’s three children, ages 16, 14, and 13, who refused to budge from the Hidden Figures star’s prized compound until she could secure monthly support payments during the bare-knuckle divorce battle over his $400 million fortune.
Baumgartner initially wanted Costner to pay up to $248k a month on child support while the prenup only required him to pony up about $52k.
Costner demanded his estranged wife to pay his $100k legal bill after Judge Anderle ordered Baumgartner to vacate the property by July 31 and forced the aging stud to pay $129k a month in child support.
Costner’s legal team argued the PMA mandates that the spouse who initiates a dispute must pay all legal costs.
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But the scrappy Baumgartner fought back accusing Costner’s pit bull lawyers, Wasser, and her notorious co-counsel Misho of allegedly racking up the actor's legal bill with unnecessary expenses, according to court documents filed on July 20, 2023.
“Apparently, his deep pockets contributed to the exorbitant fees his attorneys charged for the work they performed,” Baumgartner charged in legal documents.
“For example, it appears the Wasser firm charged Kevin nearly $8,000 for two attorneys to drive to Santa Barbara to join Kevin’s local counsel, Ms. Misho, at the hearing on the Kick-Out RFO (request for order) after receiving the Court’s tentative decision the day before. Yet, neither participated, opting instead to have Ms. Misho speak on Kevin’s behalf.”
“They could have saved Kevin almost the entire amount by appearing by Zoom, and now Kevin wants to pass this patently unreasonable charge on to Christine,” she noted in court documents.
Baumgartner also claimed parts of the billing line items were redacted so her legal team doesn’t know the reason for the costs or if it’s even related to her being kicked out of the compound. What’s more, some of Misho’s charges are not even related to the eviction she charged with.
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By comparison, Baumgartner said her legal team spent $34,000 – while Wasser and Misho are charging the JFK star nearly “three times” that amount for the same legal skirmish.
Baumgartner also said the $100k legal bill request was a “premature” legal maneuver by Costner -- who she accused of being “obstreperous.”
The couple were supposed to square off at an August 2 hearing, but the Bodyguard actor apparently realized Baumgartner was likely going to prevail in the courtroom showdown.
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