REUTERS/Sean Gardner; AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
It's not The Hatfields and McCoys, but this is still shaping up to be a memorable feud.
Kevin Costner and Stephen Baldwin are slated to testify at a federal trial in New Orleans kicking off this week over the latter's lawsuit accusing the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves man of screwing him out of a deal Costner sealed to sell oil-separation machines to BP.
Per the trial management schedule obtained by E! News, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman has ordered both actors to be present for the entirety of the proceedings, which got under way today with jury selection. Costner is scheduled to be the eighth witness called and testify for about two to three hours followed by approximately three hours of cross-examination. He is also set to participate in the cross-examination of witnesses offered up on the plaintiff side. As for Baldwin, he's expected to take the stand for one to two hours followed by a similar cross-examination.
Costner's fans may recall that two years ago he testified on Capitol Hill about a new device he and his business partner developed that used centrifugal separators to extract oil from water. The oil giant subsequently bought 32 of the devices to aid cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico following the devastating Deepwater Horizon spill in April 2010.
However, in a lawsuit filed in December of that year, the 46-year-old Usual Suspects star claimed he and a friend, Spyridon Contogouris, were duped by Costner and partner Patrick Smith into believing there wasn't any interest in the technology.
Unaware of the agreement with BP, Baldwin and Contogouris sold their shares in Ocean Therapy Solutions, the company that manufactured the centrifugal device, for $1.4 million and $500,000 respectively.
Meanwhile, Costner licensed the same technology to BP for $52 million—a tough blow for Alec Baldwin's little brother, who had declared bankruptcy the previous year.
Baldwin and his partner are accusing the Oscar winner of securities fraud and misrepresentation and are reportedly seeking $21 million in damages, while Costner has since hit back with a countersuit.
The jury trial is expected to last two weeks.