Kevin Costner has triumphed in his legal battle against fellow actor Stephen Baldwin, who accused the star of cheating him out of millions in a lucrative oil-skimming venture.
Baldwin alleged Costner and his associates at Ocean Therapy Solutions had locked him out of a deal that would have made him a multi-millionaire, claiming The Bodyguard star cheated him and his business partner by hiding details about a deal made with BP following the Gulf Coast oil spill in 2010.
BP bosses made an $18 million (£11 million) advance payment for 32 devices developed by Ocean Therapy Solutions in an effort to be better prepared for another oil leak disaster.
Baldwin claimed he should have been told about the potential agreement before selling his shares in the company, and headed to court to demand at least $15 million (£9.3 million) in damages.
The two stars took swipes at each other from the stand earlier this week (begs11Jun12), but the jury sided with Costner after deliberating for two hours on Thursday (14Jun12). No award of damages were made to Baldwin.
After the ruling, Baldwin's lawyer James Cobb told reporters, "The bigger celebrity won. We thought that we proved that Kevin Costner... made misrepresentations about the status of the company. The jury did not."