In the ongoing legal dispute between Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie over their French winery, Château Miraval, Mr. Pitt has recently secured a significant legal victory in their protracted battle.
Amidst their high-stakes dispute, Mr. Pitt emerged triumphant in the latest ruling concerning Chateau Miraval. Los Angeles Superior Court’s Judge John Ouderkirk determined that Ms. Jolie’s decision to sell her share without Mr. Pitt’s consent violated their original agreement. The agreement explicitly stipulated that any transfers required authorization, which Judge Ouderkirk deemed essential for strategic business decisions, necessitating Mr. Pitt’s approval. Holding a 60 percent ownership stake in the winery, Mr. Pitt’s legal win underscores his authority in the ongoing legal saga.
The conflict escalated when Ms. Jolie attempted to challenge a prior ruling allowing Mr. Pitt’s claims that she sold her stake in Château Miraval without his consent to proceed to trial. Ms. Jolie argued that Mr. Pitt’s claims were baseless and part of a wider pattern of vexatious litigation.
However, court documents reveal that the court dismissed Ms. Jolie’s arguments and upheld its original ruling. This development comes after Ms. Jolie’s previous attempt in November to overturn a tentative ruling allowing Mr. Pitt’s claims to progress, which was similarly rejected by Judge Lia Martin of the LA Superior Court.
Mr. Pitt, aged 60, contends that Ms. Jolie’s sale of her stake in the vineyard to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021 was invalid. In response, Ms. Jolie’s legal team vehemently opposed Mr. Pitt’s lawsuit, characterizing it as “frivolous, malicious, and part of a problematic pattern.” Last week, the judge granted Mr. Pitt’s legal team the green light to pursue claims against Ms. Jolie for breach of implied-in-fact contract and breach of quasi-contract.
This legal setback represents just the latest in a series of challenges faced by Ms. Jolie and Mr. Shefler this year. Notably, a Luxembourg court recently stripped Mr. Shefler of some shares, effectively making Mr. Pitt the majority shareholder in Château Miraval. The estate, spanning 1,300 acres in Provence, Southern France, holds sentimental significance for Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie, who exchanged vows there in 2014. The Oscar-winning couple separated in 2016 and divorced in 2019.
The clandestine nature of Ms. Jolie’s sale of her stake to Mr. Shefler’s group for $64 million raised eyebrows, particularly as it allegedly contravened an agreement stipulating that Mr. Pitt be offered first refusal and his consent obtained before any sale. Furthermore, reports suggest that Ms. Jolie’s sale occurred shortly after a judge awarded Mr. Pitt 50/50 custody of their six children amid their acrimonious divorce proceedings.
In addition to the legal wrangling between Mr. Pitt and Ms. Jolie, Mr. Pitt has accused Mr. Shefler, aged 56 and owner of the Stolichnaya vodka brand, of employing coercive tactics and smear campaigns in their dispute over Château Miraval. Mr. Pitt claimed in court documents that Mr. Shefler, following his acquisition of investment firm Nouvel, unilaterally declared their “partnership” and sought meetings, resorting to intimidation tactics when Mr. Pitt refused to cooperate.
The legal saga commenced in February 2022 when Mr. Pitt initiated legal proceedings against Ms. Jolie over the sale of Nouvel and its 50 percent stake in Château Miraval to a business group controlled by Mr. Shefler. In response, Nouvel filed a cross-complaint against Mr. Pitt in September of the same year, seeking a staggering $350 million in damages.
Mr. Pitt’s legal team maintains that Mr. Shefler, keen to leverage Mr. Pitt’s Hollywood renown, orchestrated the sale to capitalize on Mr. Pitt’s celebrity status. Mr. Shefler contests California’s jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter, arguing that Mr. Pitt’s expertise lies in acting, not winemaking, and that he trades in illusions rather than agriculture.
