- The former couple has been embroiled in a protracted legal battle over the property they bought for $28.4 million in 2008
- Jolie sold her stake to Russian alcohol magnate Yuri Shefler, who is estimated to be worth $2.5 billion
- The former Hollywood power couple, who married in 2014 and split in 2016, have become entangled in the legal system amid battles over their fortunes and custody of their children.
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Brad Pitt is making progress in his lawsuit against ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her share of their joint French estate and winery, Château Miraval, to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler in 2021.
The 60-year-old actor appears in legal documents reviewed by The American sun Monday “scored a victory last week in a French court” in connection with a ruling on documents seized by authorities during a raid in March 2022.
“There is still a long way to go in this lawsuit, but at the moment the momentum is definitely with Brad,” an insider close to the Moneyball star told the newspaper after Thursday’s ruling in an appeal court in 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 has achieved three courtroom victories in 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 he would not 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 joint French estate and winery, Château Miraval, to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, 56
The Fight Club actor “stands by his position and will continue to do what is right.”
The recent ruling was related to a March 2022 raid on the winery in which officials, brandishing search warrants, seized documents and computers in connection with allegations against Shefler’s firm Nouvel of “crime and misuse of company assets,” according to the outlet, citing documents in the case.
Under French law, companies involved in lawsuits can obtain permission from the court to obtain evidence from the parties they sue, in cooperation with court-appointed officials.
The outlet reported that in the case, a separate court subsequently reversed the aforementioned ruling and ordered that the items collected from Shefler “remain locked and sealed” pending further orders from the court.
According to the newspaper, Judge Valerie Gerard on Thursday denied Shelfer and his company Nouvel access to the materials obtained 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 at Pitt’s French firm SA Chateau Miraval.
Nouvel was also ordered by the judge to pay approximately $21,000 in legal fees, the newspaper said.
The documents will be returned to a safe at Chateau Miraval under the supervision of Pitt’s firm, the outlet reported.
Pitt said in the court documents that he and Jolie initially purchased the winery in 2008 (pictured in 2008) for $28.4 million.
The latest development in the case comes weeks after Jolie failed to convince a Los Angeles Supreme Court to dismiss the case altogether
The latest development in the case comes weeks after Jolie failed to convince a Los Angeles Supreme Court to dismiss the case entirely.
The legal clash was remote when a Luxembourg court denied Shefler control over some of his shares in November, making Pitt the majority shareholder.
The Oscar-winning stars married at the estate in Provence, southern France, in 2014 and split in 2016. They have become entangled in the legal system amid battles over their fortunes and custody of their children.