Christine Baumgartner must be fuming right now! Not only has she lost her bid for increased child support payments last week, but a judge ordered her to pay for a part of her estranged husband Kevin Costner’s legal fees now!
According to People, Judge Thomas Anderle ruled on Wednesday the 49-year-old must pay $14,237.50 worth of the Yellowstone star’s attorney fees! As the judge pointed out during the ruling, this is “certainly a case of consequence” — and this was a serious consequence for playing dumb!
Specifically this is just the fees accumulated while Costner’s team was attempting to get answers about Christine’s understanding of their prenuptial agreement.
As you may recall, Christine has been arguing she signed the prenup without ever really understanding it when they got married in 2004. Costner’s lawyers argued Christine “refuses to make known all of her contentions regarding the validity of the PMA.” As they grilled her and her legal team as to what she supposedly didn’t understand, all they got was a lot of deflection and dodging. They argued in a filing:
“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 didn’t understand the word “understood”? OK now… Kevin’s team blasted Christine and her team for the delay tactics, saying:
“Discovery is not a game of chicken. Kevin should never have been required to spend money to file a motion.”
And the judge agreed! He ruled the whopping $14K in hourly billing accrued during this one little discovery motion was now her responsibility, not Kevin’s! Wow!
It’s not just the $14k here — it’s the rebuke! The Judge Anderle is telling Christine’s team he’s not going to put up with any nonsense like that! Only legit legal arguments, no “what did you mean by the word ‘marriage’” junk.
Based on the terms of the prenup, Christine was supposed to get $1.5 million. But she risks losing it all if she challenges it, and the court sides with Kevin yet again. She’ll have to hand over the payout AND would be forced to pay more of his legal fees. And he’s clearly paying top dollar to Laura Wasser and her team!
That’s a lot on the line if she continues to go up against her ex-husband in court! Considering the judge seems to be on Team Kevin right now, her odds aren’t looking good. Reactions to latest in their divorce showdown? Let us know!
