Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s decision to divorce shocked people all around the world. The two of them are still locked in an intense battle over the French vineyard they bought together.
Now, it seems like a judge has made a surprising judgment no one expected…
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are still battling it out due to the French vineyard they purchased when they were together. The extended legal battle is over Château Miraval property and winemaking ventures, which they bought back in 2008 and were 50-50 partners until 2021 when Jolie decided to sell her share.
On October 5, 2021, the actress proceeded with the sale of Nouvel, the holding company that controlled her Miraval shares. She sold the company to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli group controlled by Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler, for $67 million. In February of the following year, Pitt was sued by Jolie for selling the winery. The papers stated that Pitt was seeking monetary damages and legal fees and that the sale Jolie made was to be voided.
In June 2023, Pitt filed more documents with the court in which he accused Jolie of intentionally trying to “harm” him and his interests in the winery. Pitt’s lawyers claimed that Angelina Jolie had sold her stake in an effort to damage their client’s involvement in the company.
On March 13, it seemed that things were in Pitt’s favor. But now it seems that a Los Angeles court has ruled against Pitt, dismissing five of the seven original claims Pitt made against her.
Jolie’s attorney, Paul Murphy, said in an interview, “The judge dismissed most of Mr. Pitt’s claims because they don’t have a legal basis. Mr. Pitt’s lawsuit has never been about a business dispute; instead, it is about his attempts to cover up serious abuse, and we are gratified the judge has thrown out so much of Mr. Pitt’s complaint.”
“Angelina truly harbors no ill-will toward Mr. Pitt, and hopes he will now release her from his frivolous lawsuit, stop his relentless attacks, and join her in helping their family heal in private,” Murphy added.
The case, however, will still be moving forward. Pitt’s attorneys have yet to make a comment about it.
In the documents for the case, one of the claims Pitt made was brought under Luxembourg law, which was dismissed by the court with prejudice, as it declined to recognize Luxembourg law in this case. The ruling was significant because Pitt was seeking to recover attorney’s fees incurred in this case, and this was the only claim that allowed him to do so. The court sustained this demurrer without the leave to amend, which basically means that Pitt will be unable to recover his attorney’s fees.
The claim that Pitt should be given the shares for Miraval that Nouvel currently holds was also dismissed with prejudice.
The court also dismissed three additional tort claims, which means that Angelina Jolie will not have to be liable for any punitive damages.
The source that commented on all of this explained that Pitt’s claim was based. on the theory that Jolie and Nouvel were one and the same, and hence, the actress was liable for Nouvel’s misconduct. The court rejected this argument and also one that claimed Jolie interfered with Pitt’s business relationships with Miraval and the Perrin family.
According to the source, the court has given Pitt time to amend and try to make his claims legally tenable.
The two claims that have not been dismissed are Pitt’s claim that he had a secret, unwritten, unspoken implied contract with Jolie that she would not sell her interest in Miraval without his consent and also a claim for quantum meruit based over the fact that Pitt did more work for Miraval than Jolie.
According to the source, no agreement exists between Jolie and Pitt. But the court found that the existence of the implied contract and the right to quantum meruit are factual matters which Jolie has not been able to resolve.
Last July, Nouvel (which is now controlled by Stoli) filed papers that claimed that Pitt “stripped” and “looted” Château Miraval in his efforts to regain control of the business. The documents claimed that Pitt tried to “seize de facto control” of the winery by wasting millions of the company’s money on some “vanity projects.”
An additional claim said that Pitt had tried to “to turn over half of the value of Château Miraval’s most valuable assets” to a friend and business partner of his for no cost. Nouvel also alleged that Pitt had wasted company assets “for the benefit of his other businesses.”
Pitt responded by trying to dismiss the pleadings of nearly all of Nouvel’s claims. Apart from dismissing two foreign claims under Luxembourg law and dismissing another one on technical grounds, the court did not dismiss any of the other causes of action, which means that Nouvel can go ahead with its $250 million claim against Pitt.
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