Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's Legal Battle Reportedly Getting Messier as She Defends Judge's Disqualification
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's legal battle has reportedly gotten messier, even after she defended the disqualification of the judge in their custody fight. Now, Us Weekly reports that Pitt and his lawyers have filed a lawsuit, in Luxembourg, over the "potentially lucrative sale of Château Miraval shares." Château Miraval is the French estate and vineyard — which is owned by a company called Quimicum — where Pitt and Jole were married, back in August 2014.
Us Weekly acquired court documents that indicate the Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood star originally retained 60 percent of Quimicum's shares, while Jolie had 40 percent. At some point, Pitt moved some of his Quimicum shares to his now-ex-wife, which made them equal partners in the company. Château Miraval is reportedly valued at over $160 million, according to the legal documents, and if the Those Who Wish Me Dead star sells her shares, she could be making a profit at Pitt's expense. "It is worth mentioning that, for the last four years, Nouvel [Jolie's company] did not act in the best interest of Quimicum by systematically delaying the approval of the annual accounts and the renewal of the manager," the lawsuit alleges, accusing Pitt of "systematic obstruction."
An insider familiar with the litigation told Us Weekly that Jolie's actions are "another example of this person trying to circumvent rules and avoid their obligations." The source then stated that her attempt to sell her Quimicum shares "is pretty consistent" with her past behavior. "It's pretty upsetting that she would behave this way considering that [Brad] was the one who did all of the work on building Miraval," a second inside source told the outlet.
The new reports come after Jolie filed a request to have Judge John W. Ouderkirk removed from the couple's custody case, on the grounds that he had failed to disclose a past connection to Pitt. "Judge Ouderkirk is no longer involved and Angelina is grateful to seek a fair decision regarding custody for the children," a source told Us Weekly at the time. However, Pitt and his attorneys stated that Ouderkirk had been forthright about the connection, dating as far back as January 2017.
Pitt had scored a big custody win back in May, when Ouderkirk ruled he should have joint custody of the couple's children: Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. Jolie previously fired back at Ouderkirk after he refused the children the opportunity to testify in the case. In court documents filed on May 24, Jolie alleged that the children could offer testimony that provides evidence paramount to their own well-being. Responding to Jolie successfully having Judge Ouderkirk removed from the case, Pitt's lawyers issued a statement, saying that they believe the ruling could go all the way to the state Supreme Court. "Review is warranted to resolve whether an administrative error in failing promptly to disclose additional, immaterial matters involving counsel for a party, years after disclosing a significant history of such matters, requires disqualification," the filing stated.