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In one of the most serious developments yet in the battle over Château Miraval, the shared French winery of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, a judge last week rejected motions by Jolie to throw out Pitt’s $67 million lawsuit against her. The ruling tees up the case to continue toward trial and moves one of Hollywood’s most labyrinthine celebrity disputes closer to resolution.
The complaint's root Is a 2021 sale in which Jolie transferred her 50% stake of Château Miraval to the Stoli Group, a vodka and spirits company, against what Pitt claims is a mutual agreement that ownership should only be between the two. Pitt says they had a verbal agreement that any share sale would first be offered to each other rather than third parties. He said this transaction violated this agreement; he therefore wants at least $67 million in reparation to cure the injury allegedly made out of this breach.
Jolie, for her part, says a nondisclosure agreement dispute filed earlier this year-said to have involved abuse allegations-invalidate prior agreements over the winery. She further alleges that Pitt forced the NDA to shut these claims down and declares she first offered him her shares before approaching Stoli-a claim which Pitt has met with denial. To boot, Jolie’s lawyers have called for the suit to be dropped in order to shield their family from further public exposure-particularly their six children. The team of Pitt would, however, counter that Jolie might use those intimate aspects to play tactically to her benefit in the case.
By this new ruling, Pitt seems to have fortified his position and a trial is apparently in the works, except modifications in the furthering of pre-trial motions take a different turn. This court decision is yet another turn in the long legal tangles between the ex-couple, including previous custody disputes and ongoing challenges over financial agreements since their 2016 split.
This development underlines how their personal and professional conflicts continue to be inextricably linked, with this case over Château Miraval symbolizing larger unresolved issues between them.
