On Thursday, the South Dakota Supreme Court unanimously ruled that movie star Kevin Costner will not have to sell his majority stake in Deadwood casino in order to cut ties with two former business associates who were looking to cash in on his desire to become the sole owner.
The star of The Guardian handed Carla and Francis Caneva 6.5 percent of the business when he hired them to manage the casino. He fired them in 2004 and offered to buy them out in order to regain control of the casino.
The court dispute had centered on the value of the casino. An accountant hired by Costner evaluated it at 3.1 million dollars, but the Canevas got another Deadwood casino owner to testify that Costner would pay 6.2 million dollars. A judge ordered that Costner will have to buy the Midnight Star for the higher amount or it would be sold on the open market.
The State Supreme Court, however, agreed with Costner's appeal, stating that the lower court did not abide by the correct IRS standard when assessing the property's value. The judges ordered the casino to be revalued and said that Costner is only obligated to pay 6.5 percent of any accumulated interest if it turns out the place is worth more than the $4.9 million that Costner put into it himself.
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