By Emma James
Brad Pitt received an early birthday present when a judge in Los Angeles sided with him allowing the actor to score a major legal victory over ex-wife Angelina Jolie in the ex-couple’s bitter battle over their former French wine estate.
A judge ordered Jolie to hand over a trove of emails and texts with her aides concerning the sale of the idyllic vineyards.
The ruling was handed down on Wednesday – the day before Brad’s 62nd birthday.
Pitt and Jolie, 50, have been embroiled in a dispute over their co-ownership of Chateau Miraval, which they purchased jointly in 2008, with the F1 star suing his ex for selling her half without his consent for $67million in 2021.
Angie offloaded her share to Yuri Shefler, the owner of Stoli’s parent company in a move that infuriated Brad, who argues they had a deal that neither would sell their stake unless the other approved.
The A-List former couple seem determined to dredge up the past and throw everything they can at each other amid their acrimonious legal battle for the vineyard, where they tied the knot in 2014.
Brad Pitt has scored a key victory in his bitter three-year court battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie over her decision to sell her share of their French wine estate, a total of $67million, after a judge ordered the actress to hand over communications exchanged with her aides as part of the ongoing legal fight
Pitt was blindsided when Jolie sold her share of Chateau Miraval, a 35-room estate and celebrated vineyard in the south of France that Pitt and Jolie bought in 2008. The 1,000-acre estate – now valued at $164million – is where the couple tied the knot in 2014
The chateau, where the couple wed in 2014, became Pitt’s ‘passion’ and one of the world’s most highly-regarded producers of rosé wine
The ongoing dispute has seen the feuding exes attack each other in legal filings ever since Pitt sued Jolie in 2022 for selling her stake in the estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé.
The latest battle is over documents that Jolie says are covered by non-disclosure agreements, but Pitt argues that they are nothing more than unprotected business chatter between Jolie and her aides.
Now Superior Court Judge Lia Martin has sided with Pitt and ordered Jolie to hand over 22 documents, giving her 45 days to comply.
A source close to Pitt told the Daily Mail that the emails would prove Jolie had been ‘disingenuous since the start’ regarding her sale of her part in the business.
Jolie ‘is abusing the privilege to bury critical documents that go to the heart of the case,’ attorneys for the Oscar winning actor argued in the court filing, asking for the 22 documents.
Pitt’s legal team said that Jolie’s legal logic was not sound as to why she is refusing to turn over the communications.
Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler bought Angie’s share of Chateau Miraval in 2021 for $67 million. The couple had initially agreed to give each other first refusal if either of them ever decided to sell their share
Jolie and Helic (left) grew close in 2012 after she teamed up with his then-boss, former UK foreign secretary William Hague (right), on an anti–sexual violence campaign
Pitt’s lawyers dismiss that portrayal, deriding the pair as nothing more than ‘image consultants.’
Attorney Paul Murphy for Jolie told Daily Mail: ‘We’re disappointed by the court’s interpretation of California’s privilege law.
‘The court’s ruling violates that law, undermines Ms. Jolie’s fundamental right to a fair trial, and represents yet another manifestation of Mr. Pitt’s years-long effort to harass and control her. We will appeal.’
The documents include conversations between Jolie’s longtime business manager Terry Bird on how to handle the Miraval sale, and trusted aides Chloe Dalton, and Lady Arminka Helic.
Pitt’s lawyers argue that the currently redacted content likely includes Bird’s personal thoughts and Jolie’s directives on whether to respond to Stoli’s inquiry about the vineyard purchase.
One exchange shows Dalton, Helic, and Bird working together on a draft attorney-client communication to the actress’s Luxembourg-based attorney, Laurent Schummer, regarding a key letter tied to the sale.
Jolie and Helic first bonded in 2012, when the Tomb Raider star and Helic’s then-boss, former British foreign secretary William Hague, partnered for an anti-sexual violence initiative.
In filings, Jolie stated that when they filed for divorce, she left him ‘control (and full residency) of their family homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval, without compensation’
A source previously said that Jolie considered Helic a ‘mentor’, who began ‘helping Angie make decisions on what she wants her next political move to be’, after stepping away from Hollywood.
In 2015, Jolie, Helic and Dalton formed the Jolie Pitt Dalton Helic foundation, an organization that aims to prevent violence against women and help refugees.
Jolie insists their presence was ‘reasonably necessary to help me receive the legal advice I needed.’
They argue that there is clear evidence that Jolie is hiding non-legal advice under the veil of privilege.
The documents Pitt’s team are demanding also include communications between the actress and her finance consultants Marjorie Brabet-Friel and James Friel.
According to Jolie’s sworn declarations, the disputed emails reveal the step-by-step roadmap of her legal and strategic maneuvers – from drafting responses to analyzing legal advice.
She has admitted to performing ‘sentence-by-sentence redactions’, removing passages that contained nothing but ‘attorney mental impressions, conclusions, or observations.’
Her team insists these materials reflect pure legal strategy, refuting Pitt’s claims that the documents are simply ‘business gossip’. But that argument is no longer viable after the judge’s ruling.
This discovery fight has become so volatile that it’s now teetering on the brink of financial penalties.
Jolie’s team has repeatedly warned Pitt that they will seek sanctions against him and his lawyers, labeling his motion as ‘frivolous’ and premature, filed before both sides had fully exhausted required discussions.
Chateau Miraval in the Var departement in the south of France produces an award-winning sparkling rosé
Angelina said she and the children have never returned to Miraval due to its association with the painful events that led to their divorce
Jolie has also claimed that Pitt is using the legal filings to deflect public attention, after his motion was lodged a day before a crucial hearing about her motion to compel documents related to alleged domestic violence.
Pitt’s side insists the timing is irrelevant and calls the entire sanctions narrative ‘theatrics.’
Jolie entered a court filing earlier this month stating her displeasure with how things have turned out involving the French winery.
Jolie said that upon the 2016 split, she left Pitt ‘control (and full residency) of our family homes in Los Angeles and at Miraval, without compensation, which I hoped would make him calmer in his dealings with me after a difficult and traumatic period.
‘To this day, the children and I have never again set foot on the property, given its connection to the painful events leading to the divorce.’
‘Post-separation, I immediately began to look for a new house for me and our children, initially renting a home while looking for a more stable solution.
All of the couple’s children have sided with Angelina with most of them dropping the surname Pitt
‘Because I wanted to ensure that Brad remained an important part of our children’s lives, I looked to buy a property near his home.
‘At the time, my savings were tied up in Miraval, and I had not asked Brad for alimony or any other financial support.’
The former couple are parents to six children: Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 17.
They split in 2016 following a 12-year relationship and two-year marriage, after Jolie accused Pitt of drunkenly attacking her on a private plane. The divorce wasn’t finalized until eight years later.
Their kids have all sided with Angelina, with most of them dropping the last name Pitt.
Amid the swathes of new legal documents, Judge Martin has set a trial date of February 1, 2027, and mediation was ordered for October 28, 2026.
Jolie faces potential damages claims if she does not undo the deal she made with Shefler regarding the sale of her Miraval stake.
She was dealt another blow earlier this year after the court ruled she must produce every NDA that she signed with a third-party over an eight-year period from 2014 – the year they married – to 2022.
Pitt has landed several legal victories in the battle for the winery including a key judgment in Luxembourg which handed him back control of the award-winning vineyard pending further hearings.
In March, LA Superior Court rejected the allegations that his suit was ‘frivolous, malicious, and part of a problematic pattern.’
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