HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Did Kevin Costner pull a slick one?
Stephen Baldwin is suing the Dances with Wolves star, claiming he duped him in a business deal involving Costner's pioneering oil extractor device, according to TMZ.
Disturbed by the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the actor and environmental activist funded a science group, Ocean Therapy Solutions, headed by his brother Dan, to develop a technology that can separate oil from water.
In the lawsuit filed in Louisiana, Baldwin claims he became a 10 percent partner in the invention back in April, shortly after the BP oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. He claims the movie star and his partners made it seem as if Costner had already sold his shares in the company when in fact he was still heavily invested. Baldwin also claims the company failed to disclose that they had already made a deal to sell the device to BP.
Baldwin alleges he was duped into selling his shares back so Costner and his partners could score a bigger profit in a reported $52 million deal.
Costner's reps have yet to comment on the legal showdown.
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