Kevin Costner Says Christine Baumgartner Is Trying to ‘Delay’ Divorce, Slams Prenup Confusion
Kevin Costner has accused estranged wife Christine Baumgartner of intentionally prolonging their divorce, according to new court documents obtained by Us Weekly.
“Christine has only thrown roadblock after roadblock up in an unjustified effort to avoid answering this discovery,” Costner, 68, wrote in a Thursday, August 10, filing, which he claims are only meant to further “delay” the process.
Costner is seeking monetary sanctions against Baumgartner, 49, for allegedly failing to respond to his discovery requests. The Yellowstone star claimed in his motion that he served Baumgartner with written discovery requests in May to “elicit her contentions as to the validity” of the prenuptial agreement that they signed upon their 2004 marriage. Costner noted that they were looking for a “very basic discovery” in regard to the “facts, documents and witnesses supporting her contentions” of their divorce battle.
Costner claimed that Baumgartner “steadfastly refused” to reveal her divorce contentions and has alleged that she “cannot admit or deny that she understood” their executed prenup. (She has not yet addressed his recent claims.)
“Christine asserts she cannot admit or deny that she understood the Premarital Agreement because she (and apparently all of her attorneys) do not understand the word ‘understood.’ This is gamesmanship of the worst sort,” the new docs read. “‘Understood’ is not a technical or arcane word. 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. The notion that Christine and the multiple seasoned lawyers representing her do not understand the word ‘understood’ and cannot reply to this simple, straightforward [request for admission] is frivolous. Clearly, this vagueness objection was interposed only for the purpose of delay.”
Us confirmed in May that Baumgartner filed for divorce from Costner after 19 years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the cause of their split. The twosome have since been involved in a messy legal battle over finances, residency of their family home and child support. Costner and Baumgartner share three kids: Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13. (Costner is also the father of daughters Annie, 39, and Lily, 36, and son Joe, 35, with ex-wife Cindy Silva
