Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt. Getty Images (2)
Angelina Jolie has taken a major step forward in her ongoing battle with Brad Pitt over their French winery Château Miraval, Us Weekly can exclusively confirm.
A judge tentatively ruled on Monday, November 25, that Pitt, 60, must turn over documents and communications that Jolie, 49, claims will prove he covered up alleged domestic violence against her and their children.
“We are gratified that the court ruled in Angelina’s favor,” Jolie’s attorney Paul Murphy exclusively told Us in a statement on Tuesday, November 26. “After Mr. Pitt fought for years to hide this crucial evidence, he must now produce documents and communications concerning abuse, lies to authorities, and years of cover-up. His actions harmed Angelina and their children and are central to this case.”
Murphy noted that his client only wants what’s best for her and Pitt’s family. (The exes, who divorced in 2016, share six children.)
Angelina Jolie’s legal team wants Brad Pitt to drop his lawsuit over the French winery they co-owned — and “end the fighting and finally put their family on a clear path toward healing.” Pitt, 60, first sued Jolie, 49, in February 2022, claiming that she breached their contract by selling her Chateau Miraval stake in […]
“I want to again emphasize that Angelina never wanted any of this. She never pressed charges, she left all their properties, and she is the one who tried to sell him the business in the first place,” the attorney continued. “To this day, Mr. Pitt has never been held accountable for his actions and has at all times controlled Miraval and the winery, yet he still demands more.”
The statement concluded: “She wants this to end, the children want this to end, and Mr. Pitt should focus on healing their family, not pursuing lawsuits. If he does not, Angelina will defend herself in court by presenting the evidence necessary to demonstrate that Pitt’s allegations are demonstrably false.”
A source close to Pitt exclusively told Us on Tuesday that the ruling “is mostly irrelevant because he has provided so much information already.”
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lia Martin issued her tentative ruling on Monday after Jolie’s legal team argued that Pitt’s documents would prove her allegations that he tried to make her sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) that would have prevented her from speaking out about the alleged abuse so she could sell her half of their winery to Pitt.
Jolie and Pitt have been in a legal battle since February 2022, when Pitt filed a lawsuit against her claiming she illegally sold her shares of their French winery. Pitt claimed that he and Jolie previously agreed they could only sell their shares with each other’s approval.
“Pitt and Jolie purchased the château as a home to share with their children and the vineyard as a family business,” the initial court documents read. “They agreed they would never sell their respective interests in Miraval without the other’s consent. The couple spent the holidays at Miraval with their children and were married there in 2014.”
In July, Jolie filed court documents claiming that the actor tried to force her to sign an $8.5 million NDA to cover up “years of abuse.” Her legal team asked that the court compel Pitt to disclose “private, third-party communications” he had about their family’s 2016 plane ride that resulted in Jolie filing for divorce.
Angelina Jolie. James Devaney/GC Images
Shortly before Jolie and Pitt called it quits in 2016, their family made headlines when Pitt was accused of child abuse during a trip on their jet. Pitt was later cleared by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
Jolie argued in the July docs that she “was not acting with malice and the intent to hurt Pitt in response to any custody ruling” when she sold her share of Château Miraval in 2021.
She claimed it was Pitt who “refused to buy her interest unless he received his newly expanded NDA,” she alleged in the filing, claiming that it was designed to “force her silence about his abuse and cover-up.”
Pitt’s legal team previously responded to the July motion, calling the separate filing asking for his personal communications “wide-ranging and intrusive.”
Nestled among the rolling hills of the French countryside in the small village of Correns sits Château Miraval, the centuries-old 1,200-acre property Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie purchased for $28.4 million in 2008. For the A-list megastars, the sprawling estate was an idyllic escape from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. It was a place […]
The judge’s latest ruling is a major blow to Pitt, who had put off releasing his correspondence for years. “This ruling is an enormous win for Angie and a disaster for Brad. This is, by far, the most impactful ruling in the case to date,” a source told Us on Tuesday. “All of this evidence is now fair game in discovery.”
The insider explained that this case is “Pitt’s doing, and he controls whether to resolve it.” The source alleged that the Oscar winner “clearly wants to keep controlling and hurting Angelina through this lawsuit, forcing her to relive the pain of the reasons for the separation and cover of abuse.”
Prior to being compelled to disclose his communications, Pitt scored his own legal win over Jolie when a judge ruled in favor of the case going to trial. Us confirmed on November 15 that a judge upheld the ruling that there was an implied contract regarding shares in the holding company, and Pitt’s claims were valid on two counts of interference.
The ruling came after Jolie previously asked the case to be thrown out. The trial date has yet to be set.
Us has reached out to Pitt’s team for comment.
