You could say that Stephen Baldwin brought it on himself. Stephen Baldwin and friend Spyridon Contogouris initiated a courtroom clash with Kevin Costner over a multi-million dollar deal, in which BP was involved too. Last evening, the ruling came out. Kevin Costner won the lawsuit with Stephen Baldwin.

The federal lawsuit Stephen Baldwin and his friend Spyridon Contogouris initiated against Kevin Costner was described by the media as the clash of Hollywood actors. Unfortunately for Stephen Baldwin and his partner who were asking for $17 million in damages, the court decided they had no case against Kevin Costner.

Associated Press explains that Stephen Baldwin accused Kevin Costner of withholding important information in a deal between the actor’s company Ocean Therapy Solutions and oil titan BP. In 2010, when BP was trying hard to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Kevin Costner’s company sold them cleanup devices.

The plaintiffs, Stephen Baldwin and Spyridon Contogouris, claim that Kevin Costner didn’t pay their share for the deal closed with BP. Both partners asked the jury to force Kevin Costner’s company pay them some $17 million in damages. It took the jury only two hours to come to a conclusion.

After the court gave its ruling, Kevin Costner told the media: “My name means more to me than money and that’s why we didn’t settle. His attorneys told the court that neither Stephen Baldwin nor Spyridon Contogouris were entitled to payments from the deal with BP because they had already sold their stakes in Costner’s company.

Stephen Baldwin and his lawyer were not happy with the court’s ruling. Baldwin’s after court statement reads: “Obviously I am disappointed with the jury’s verdict. The facts in the case remain true and the opportunity to rectify the unjust activities of those involved is a right and freedom”.

The actor’s lawyer, James Cobb seemed just as disappointed and claimed it was Costner’s celebrity and influence that won him the lawsuit not the actual facts. “We’re disappointed. We thought we proved rather convincingly that these two guys, Mr. Costner and Smith [actor’s business partner] defrauded us” said Cobb. “The jury saw it a different way but we respect the jury’s verdict” added the lawyer.