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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s bitter legal battles following their divorce are still underway. With the former couple going head to head in court over the French winery Chateau Miraval, the Benjamin Button star has reportedly taken a loss.
The former couple bought Chateau Miraval in Correns, France, back in 2008, and they even married there in 2014. In October 2021, Russian businessman Yuri Shefler’s company Tenute del Mondo announced it purchased Jolie’s 50% stake in the estate and the wines it produces. A few months later, in February 2022, Pitt filed a lawsuit against Jolie for selling her stake, seeking monetary damages, and legal fees, and for the sale to be voided.
On March 13, it was reported by The Sun that Pitt scored a legal victory over documents seized by bailiffs in a raid. “In recent months, he’s landed three courtroom wins across three different jurisdictions: Luxembourg, the United States, and now France,” a source told the outlet.
However, an insider told Entertaiment Tonight Wednesday that a court in Los Angeles, California, actually ruled against Pitt in response to Jolie’s demurrer to his initial complaint, and dismissed five out of the seven claims he had asserted against her.
Jolie’s attorney, Paul Murphy told ET, “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,” Murphy continued.
He went on to say the Maleficent actress has “no ill-will” against her ex-husband, “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.”
Brad Pitt’s lawsuit
The legal docs Pitt filed in 2022 at Los Angeles Superior Court were obtained by outlets like TMZ, which revealed Jolie put down 40% of the $28.4 million purchase price. However, Pitt claims to have invested millions into the winery over the years, one of the world’s top producers of rosé wine.
Per Page Six, the docs claim that by 2013, “Jolie stopped contributing altogether” for the renovations, while Pitt “poured money and sweat equity into the wine business. Jolie seeks to seize profits she has not earned and returns on an investment she did not make.”
He also claims they had an understating that neither could sell their interest without the other’s consent. Pitt says he was supposed to sign off on whoever the proposed buyer was. A source close to Pitt told TMZ, “Unfortunately, this is another example of the same person disregarding her legal and ethical obligations. In doing so, she has violated the rights of the only person who poured money and sweat equity into the success of the business by purporting to sell both the business and family home to a third-party competitor.”