Brad Pitt may score a win in French winery battle as judge hints Angelina Jolie could be ordered to hand over staff NDAs
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Brad Pitt is expected to take home a big win against his estranged wife Angelina Jolie as a judge said she would grant the actor’s request to force Jolie to turn over the NDAs (non-disclosure agreements), including the ones signed by staff members.
As the prolonged court battle between the estranged exes continues over their $500 million winery business, the judge’s decision may prove to be a positive streak for Pitt.
The ‘Mr and Mrs Smith' co-stars continue to battle the decision of Jolie to sell her share of Chateau Miraval to a Russian oligarch, which Pitt’s attorneys claimed was done without the actor’s knowledge.
In the court battle, Pitt has maintained that as part of their divorce proceedings, they mutually agreed not to sell any share of the business without the other's agreement.
Judge said she was ‘inclined to’ grant Brad Pitt’s request
Per Daily Mail, Judge Lia Martin said she was "inclined to" grant Pitt’s motion. It would mean the ‘Maleficent’ actress would have to reveal all the NDAs she has entered into with various parties since 2014.
Judge Martin continued, “I don’t see this as a character question,” before adding, “There maybe agreements that [Jolie] entered into with people that may have terms similar or not. The court is not making any findings today about admissibility of the documents.”
Angelina Jolie’s attorneys oppose the move, call out Brad Pitt
During the court proceedings of Thursday, May 16, Jolie’s attorneys opposed the tentative ruling while saying that Pitt’s demand to seek the NDAs is an attempt to hide “years of abuse” that the ‘Troy’ star has inflicted over his family.
The attorneys further added that Pitt made Jolie sign the NDAs to control her and the assets in the French winery in Chateau Miraval.
Jolie previously claimed in her court documents that though Pitt showed interest in acquiring her portion of the winery, the deal was scrapped when the ‘Fight Club’ actor asked her to sign an NDA that barred her from speaking publicly about the abuse allegations.
In a 2016 infamous flight from France to America, Pitt allegedly abused Jolie in front of their children. Five days after the flight, the ‘Tomb Raider’ actress filed for divorce and sold her shares of Miraval to Stoli Group in 2021.
Jolie’s lawyers wrote in an affidavit per Daily Mail, “She has gone to great lengths to try to shield their children from reliving the pain Pitt inflicted on the family that day.”
They continued, “But when Pitt filed this lawsuit seeking to reassert control over Jolie's financial life and compel her to rejoin her ex-husband as a frozen-out business partner, Pitt forced Jolie to publicly defend herself on these issues for the first time.”
“He wanted to cover up his conduct because he could not stomach what he is covering up," Paul Murphy, one of Jolie's attorneys, said in court on Thursday.
"Mr Pitt’s abuse, his cover-up and actions, gaslighting his children - that is what changed."
