Kevin Costner: 'All I wanted in Baldwin battle was to clear my name'

KEVIN COSTNER insisted on taking his legal battle with fellow actor STEPHEN BALDWIN to trial because he wanted to clear his name in court.

The two stars became locked in a bitter lawsuit in Louisiana after Baldwin accused Costner and his associates at Ocean Therapy Solutions of locking him out of a deal that would have made him a multi-millionaire.

Baldwin and his business partner Spyridon Contogouris claimed The Bodyguard star cheated them by hiding details about a deal made with BP bosses following the Gulf Coast oil spill in 2010, and the plaintiffs alleged they should have been told about the potential agreement before they agreed to sell their shares in the company.

Costner refused to settle the matter out-of-court and, on Thursday (14Jun12), his determination to fight the case paid off - a jury in New Orleans ruled in his favor and chose not to award damages to Baldwin, who had demanded at least $15 million in compensation.

After the verdict was read out in court, a relieved Costner admitted he only ever wanted to clear his name of any wrongdoing.

He said, "My name means more to me than money, and that's why we didn't settle. It was my good luck that (the jury) saw the truth of the story."