Check out how contentious the Kevin Costner/Christine Baumgartner divorce has gotten … here’s the first line of Kevin’s latest filing … “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 “understand.”
It’s all over whether Christine understood the terms of the prenup when she signed it. There have been signals she is going to contest the prenup, on grounds she did not get what it meant. So Kevin’s lawyers have asked her lawyers if she “understood” what she was signing.
Kevin’s lawyer, Disso Queen Laura Wasser, writes in the latest filing, “Christine’s counsel asked for a definition of ‘understood’ and Kevin’s counsel provided the dictionary meaning of the word ‘understood,’ to wit, ‘comprehended or perceive the intended meaning of words.'”
Wasser is asking the judge to make Christine’s lawyers answer the question … did she understand the prenup or not?
Here’s the question that fueled the latest battle …
Wasser: “You understood the legal effect of the premarital agreement before you signed the premarital agreement.”
Christine’s lawyer: “Objection. This request is vague as to the scope and meaning of the terms ‘understood’ … [Christine] is unable to admit or deny the request.”
A lot is on the line here … if Christine challenges the prenup at an upcoming hearing and the judge enforces it, she’ll have to return the $1.5 million Kevin fronted her, and pay his attorney’s fees to boot.
The judge has indicated during several hearings he is inclined to enforce the prenup.
It’s the best parsing of words since Bill Clinton wanted to know what the definition of “is” is!