Brad Pitt Scores Another Win Against Ex Angelina Jolie In $350 Million Vineyard Legal Battle
Brad Pitt has scored multiple wins against Angelina Jolie in their legal battle over their winery business.
Pitt, 60, disputed Jolie's move to sell her stake in their family's winery business, Chateau Miraval, to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler following their separation. The "Seven" actor wanted to reverse the sale, and he made progress by winning in a French court last week, The Sun reported.
"There's a long way to go in this litigation, but at the moment, the momentum is certainly with Brad," an unnamed source close to Pitt told the outlet.
"In recent months, he's landed three courtroom wins across three different jurisdictions: Luxembourg, the United States, and now, France. From the moment this hostile takeover bid began, he made it clear that he wasn't going to be bullied -- and he meant it. He has stood his ground and will continue to do what is right."
The recent ruling in the $350 vineyard legal battle was related to the raid at the winery in March 2022, where the bailiffs seized the documents and IT materials of the company. The raid was done after Shefler made claims of malfeasance and misuse of company assets.
French law reportedly allows businesses in litigation to enter their adversaries' premises and seize evidence of suspected fraud.However, the decision was overturned last week. This means the seized documents, including contracts, invoices and emails, would remain sealed.
The Aix-en-Provence appellate court in France denied Shelfer's firm, Nouvel, access to the documents. Presiding Judge Valerie Gerard ruled that Nouvel, Jolie's former investment company, had no legal standing to ask for the seizure of documents controlled by SA Chateau Miraval -- Pitt's French company, which owns the 1,300-acre estate -- because it is an indirect shareholder.
Shefler's firm was also ordered to pay $21,000 in legal costs. In addition, a court in Luxembourg stripped Shefler of some of his shares, making Pitt the majority shareholder.
Meanwhile, Jolie's attempts to dismiss Pitt's lawsuit against her in Los Angeles were rejected. Pitt sued Jolie in the City of Angels as part of their legal battle over the winery business they used to own together. The "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" actor claimed that Jolie's sale of her stake in Chateau Miraval was "vindictive" after an "adverse custody ruling."
"Her decision to terminate negotiations with Pitt was intentional and pretextual," the documents obtained by CNN read. "As will be demonstrated at trial, Jolie's actions were unlawful, severely and intentionally damaging Pitt and unjustly enriching herself."
Jolie's lawyer, Paul Murphy, responded by saying that Pitt "refused to complete the Miraval sale with Jolie unless she agreed to be silenced about the abuse."
The alleged abuse was related to the argument between the couple during a plane flight in 2016 from France to California. They were with their kids during the flight, and Jolie claimed there was a physical altercation, with Pitt allegedly choking one of the kids and striking another in the face.
Jolie filed for divorce shortly after the alleged brawl. Their divorce is not yet finalized, but both were declared "legally single" in April 2019.
