Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie‘s legal battle over French winery Château Miraval is still ongoing — and getting even messier.
Pitt, 59, was accused of “looting” and “stripping” Château Miraval’s assets in an effort to take over the property, according to court documents obtained by CNN on Monday, July 10. In a new complaint filed by Jolie’s former investment firm Nouvel — which holds her 50 percent stake in the company — Pitt was called out for a “so-far-successful plan” to “seize” majority control of the winery.
Nouvel reportedly claimed that Pitt froze them out and has wasted the company’s money with “millions on vanity projects, including more than $1 million on swimming pool renovations, building and rebuilding a staircase four times, and spending millions to restore a recording studio.”
According to attorneys representing the firm, Pitt’s “misconduct” got worse after Jolie, 48, sold her share in October 2021. “Incensed that Jolie sold Nouvel to Stoli rather than him, Pitt has acted like a petulant child, refusing to treat Nouvel as an equal partner in the business,” the legal documents read.
In response to the drama, a source close to the litigation exclusively told Us Weekly that the “looter” claims against Pitt are “absurd” following his history with the winery. “It’s public knowledge that Brad has poured millions more into this business, building it from the ground up over the last decade,” the insider said.
In February 2022, Pitt filed a lawsuit claiming Jolie illegally sold her shares after they previously agreed only to do so with each other’s approval. In court documents obtained by Us last month, Pitt accused Jolie of “vindictively” giving up her share since he was never given the chance to match or outbid her offer.
The former couple called it quits in 2016 after two years of marriage. Shortly before their split, the actors made headlines when Pitt was the subject of a child abuse investigation due to an alleged incident on the family’s jet. He was later cleared by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.
Pitt and Jolie, however, have continued to be wrapped up in legal disputes over their French vineyard as well as an ongoing battle for custody of their minor children. (The pair, who were declared legally single in April 2019, share six kids: Maddox, 21, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 14.)
Attorney Neama Rahmani — who is not affiliated with either party — exclusively told Us in June that the legal back and forth will likely continue for a while. “There’s so many allegations,” he said. “You’ve got family law, you’ve got custody, there’s allegations of abuse, and obviously, you have a very valuable chateau that the two are fighting over.”
Rahmani added: “What Brad is arguing here is there was an agreement — it seems like it’s the handwritten, back of the napkin type agreement — where Angelina said ‘I wouldn’t do it.’ But also, what he’s arguing here is, well, even if Angelina could sell to a third party, he had a right of first refusal. He could match any offer, and Angelina didn’t give him the opportunity to do so.”
According to the lawyer, Pitt’s ideal outcome would be to get “the entire chateau to himself” or to have a chance to buy his ex-wife out. A small victory would be to receive money from Jolie in damages.
