Brad Pitt's Hollywood Drama Takes a Surprising Twist in Angelina Jolie Winery Lawsuit

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Castel Franck/ABACA/Shutterstock; Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock

The legal dispute between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie regarding the French winery Château Miraval continues and is becoming more complicated. According to court documents obtained by CNN on July 10, Pitt, who is 59 years old, has been accused of taking advantage of and depleting Château Miraval's assets in an attempt to gain full ownership of the property. Nouvel, Jolie's former investment firm that holds her 50 percent stake in the company, has filed a new complaint highlighting Pitt's successful efforts so far to gain majority control of the winery.

Nouvel allegedly accused Pitt of excluding them and squandering the company's funds on "frivolous projects," such as spending over $1 million on pool renovations, reconstructing a staircase four times, and investing millions in restoring a recording studio.

Attorneys representing the company claim that Pitt's "misbehavior" escalated after Jolie, 48, sold her stake in October 2021. The legal documents state that Pitt, feeling resentful that Jolie sold Nouvel to Stoli instead of him, has been behaving immaturely by refusing to treat Nouvel as an equal partner in the business.

In light of the controversy, a trusted source involved in the legal proceedings exclusively informed We that the accusations of Pitt being a "looter" are baseless, considering his long-standing involvement with the winery. According to the insider, it is widely known that Brad has invested millions and dedicated the past ten years to establish this business from scratch.

In February 2022, Pitt initiated a lawsuit alleging that Jolie unlawfully sold her shares without obtaining their prior agreement. As per court documents retrieved by Us last month, Pitt claimed that Jolie "vindictively" relinquished her ownership stake without affording him the opportunity to match or surpass her offer.

The couple ended their marriage in 2016 after being together for two years. Prior to their separation, there was a high-profile incident on the family's plane which led to a child abuse investigation against Pitt. However, he was later cleared of any wrongdoing by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

Despite being legally declared single in April 2019, Pitt and Jolie have been involved in legal disputes concerning their French vineyard and an ongoing custody battle for their minor children. They have six children together: Maddox (21), Pax (19), Zahara (18), Shiloh (17), and twins Knox and Vivienne (14).

According to attorney Neama Rahmani, who is not affiliated with either party, he exclusively informed Us in June that the legal dispute is expected to continue for a significant period. Rahmani stated that there are numerous allegations involving family law, custody, allegations of abuse, and a valuable chateau that the two parties are fighting over.

Rahmani further explained that Brad's argument revolves around an agreement, which appears to be an informal, handwritten agreement, where Angelina stated that she would not proceed with a certain action. Additionally, Brad is arguing that even if Angelina were able to sell to a third party, he had the right to be given the opportunity to match any offer, and Angelina did not provide him with that opportunity.

As per the attorney, Pitt's desired outcome would either be sole ownership of the "entire chateau" or an opportunity to purchase his ex-wife's share. Obtaining monetary compensation from Jolie as damages would be considered a minor triumph.