Brad Pitt is making progress in his lawsuit against ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her share of their jointly-owned French estate and winery, Château Miraval, to a Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler in 2021.
The 60-year-old actor, according to legal documents reviewed by The U.S. Sun Monday, ‘racked up a win in a French court last week’ in connection with a ruling over documents authorities seized in a March 2022 raid.
‘There’s a long way to go in this litigation, but at the moment, the momentum is certainly with Brad,’ an insider close to the Moneyball leading man told the outlet after the Thursday ruling in an appeals court in the the Aix-en-Provence.
The source said last week’s ruling marked the third consecutive time Pitt has made progress in the case.
‘In recent months, he’s landed three courtroom wins across three different jurisdictions: Luxembourg, the United States, and now France,’ the source said of the Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actor. ‘From the moment this hostile takeover bid began, he made it clear that he wasn’t going to be bullied – and he meant it.’
Brad Pitt is making progress in his lawsuit against ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her share of their jointly-owned French estate and winery, Château Miraval, to a Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, 56
The Fight Club actor ‘has stood his ground and will continue to do what is right.’
The recent ruling was linked to a March 2022 raid on the winery, in which officials brandishing search warrants took possession of documents and computer in connection with accusations toward Shefler’s firm Nouvel of ‘malfeasance and misuse of company assets,’ according to the outlet, citing documents in the case.
Under French law, companies involved in lawsuits can be given clearance by the court to procure evidence from the parties they are suing, in conjunction with court-appointed officials.
The outlet reported that in the case, a separate court subsequently reversed the aforementioned ruling, ordering the items collected from Shefler to ‘remained locked and sealed’ pending further orders from the court.
On Thursday, according to the outlet, Judge Valerie Gerard blocked Shelfer and his company Nouvel from gaining access to the materials acquired in the raid.
The judge said that as ‘an indirect shareholder,’ Nouvel ‘had no legal standing’ to request access to the documents, which are in the custody of officials with Pitt’s French firm SA Chateau Miraval.
Nouvel was also ordered by the judge to remit a sum around $21,000 in legal fees, according to the outlet.
The documents will be placed back in a safe at Chateau Miraval under the purview of Pitt’s firm, the outlet reported.
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Pitt said in court docs that he and Jolie initially purchased the winery in 2008 (pictured in 2008) for $28.4 million
The latest development on the case comes weeks after Jolie was unsuccessful in convincing a Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss the case altogether
The latest development on the case comes weeks after Jolie was unsuccessful in convincing a Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss the case altogether.
The legal clash has been far flung, as a Luxembourg court in November restricted Shefler from power over a portion of his shares, with Pitt becoming majority shareholder as a result.
The Oscar-winning stars wed at the Provence, Southern France estate in 2014 at the estate and split in 2016. They have been entangled in the legal system amid battles over their fortune and custody of their children.