Attorneys for actor Kevin Costner have accused his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner of 'gamesmanship' after she filed for divorce following 18 years of marriage.
The accusation came in new court documents filed as Costner and Baumgartner continue their divorce proceedings, after Baumgartner filed to end their marriage on 1 May.
At the time, a representative for Costner commented: “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action.
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“We ask that his, Christine’s and their children’s privacy be respected as they navigate this difficult time."
The couple married in 2004 and went on to welcome three children together; Cayden, Hayes, and Grace.
In his response to Baumgartner's divorce filing, Costner indicated the pair had signed a Premarital Agreement - aka a prenup - and it's this that has become a point of contention as the proceedings continue.
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On 10 August, Costner's attorneys asked the court to compel Baumgartner to answer a number of questions they say they've put to her about the premarital agreement, the documents allege.
The lawyers accused Baumgartner of 'gamesmanship' as she's allegedly avoided answering the questions, including whether or not she understood the agreement before she signed it.
The request from Costner's lawyers comes as legal teams for both parties prepare to go to trial in November, where it will be determined whether or not the prenup is valid.
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“Four months into this matter, and three months away from the commencement of the trial on the validity of the PMA [Premarital Agreement], Christine refuses to make known all of her contentions regarding the validity of the PMA,” the lawyers wrote in the documents cited by People.
“The objections she has mustered in an effort to not disclose her contentions are frivolous. She says she does not understand words like ‘understood’ or ‘negotiation,’ so she cannot answer this discovery.
“She says she does not know what commonly legal phrases like ‘legal effect’ and ‘supersedes’ mean, so she cannot answer this discovery.
"She refuses to admit (or even deny) that the specific factual representations she and her attorney made in the PMA itself are accurate, to wit, that she understood the PMA, that it was explained to her and that she acknowledged she understood the meaning and legal effect of the PMA,” the lawyer continued.
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In a separate statement, Costner's lawyers called Baumgartner's tactics 'gamesmanship of the worst sort'.
In a lawsuit, 'gamesmanship' refers to the aim of creating additional cost or stress for the other person involved, with the hope that they will agree to settle the case or even abandon it altogether.
"‘Understood’ is not a technical or arcane word," they added. "It is not ground for objection that a request is ambiguous, unless it is so ambiguous that the responding party cannot in good faith frame an intelligent reply."
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The actor's legal team claimed Baumgartner's alleged refusal to answer the questions has 'unreasonably interfered with Kevin’s right to conduct discovery relevant to the validity of the PMA and to timely prepare for that trial'.
Before the trial begins in November, an evidentiary hearing has been set for 31 August and 1 September.
UNILAD has contacted Baumgartner's lawyers for comment.
Topics: Celebrity
Emily Brown