Angelina Jolie gets legal win over ex-husband Brad Pitt in court battle over French winery Chateau Miraval... as her lawyer says judge shot down five out of seven claims Pitt made

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Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00

Written by Daily mail

            Angelina Jolie's lawyer says the actress recently scored a series of courtroom wins amid her legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt over Château Miraval, the French estate and winery they bought in 2008. Litigation between the A-list stars - who wed at the Provence, Southern France estate in 2014 and split in 2016 - centers around Jolie's sale of her ownership share to Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler in 2021. The judge ruled in favor of the Oscar-winning actress, 48, 'and dismissed five of the seven claims Pitt asserted against her' in a complaint he filed, during a hearing in Los Angeles last week, an insider told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday.'The judge dismissed most of Mr. Pitt's claims because they don't have a legal basis,' Jolie's lawyer Paul Murphy told the outlet in a statement Wednesday. 'Mr. Pitt's lawsuit has never been about a business dispute; instead, it is about his attempts to cover up serious abuse, and we are gratified the judge has thrown out so much of Mr. Pitt's complaint.' The Maleficent actress 'truly harbors no ill-will toward' Pitt, her lawyer said, adding that Jolie 'hopes he will now release her from his frivolous lawsuit, stop his relentless attacks, and join her in helping their family heal in private.' The Mr. & Mrs. Smith stars have been entangled in the legal system amid battles on multiple issues over the past six years, including custody of their six children - Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15. Jolie's legal victory came after Pitt, 60, made progress during a hearing over the estate last week in France as he 'racked up a win in a French court last week' in connection with a ruling over documents authorities seized in a March 2022 raid, according to legal documents reviewed by The U.S. Sun Monday. 'There’s a long way to go in this litigation, but at the moment, the momentum is certainly with Brad,' an insider close to the Moneyball leading man told the outlet after the Thursday ruling in an appeals court in the 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’s landed three courtroom wins across 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 that he wasn’t going to be bullied - and he meant it.' The Fight Club actor 'has stood his ground and will continue to do what is right.' The recent ruling was linked to a March 2022 raid on the winery, in which officials brandishing search warrants took possession of documents and computer in connection with accusations toward Shefler's firm Nouvel of 'malfeasance and misuse of company assets,' according to the outlet, citing documents in the case. Under French law, companies involved in lawsuits can be given clearance by the court to procure evidence from the parties they are suing, in conjunction with court-appointed officials.The outlet reported that in the case, a separate court subsequently reversed the aforementioned ruling, ordering the items collected from Shefler to 'remained locked and sealed' pending further orders from the court. On Thursday, according to the outlet, Judge Valerie Gerard blocked Shelfer and his company Nouvel from gaining access to the materials acquired 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 with Pitt's French firm SA Chateau Miraval. Nouvel was also ordered by the judge to remit a sum around $21,000 in legal fees; and the documents will be placed back in a safe at Chateau Miraval under the purview of Pitt's firm, the outlet reported. The latest development on the case comes weeks after Jolie was unsuccessful in convincing a Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss the case altogether. The legal clash has been far flung, as a Luxembourg court in November restricted Shefler from power over a portion of his shares, with Pitt becoming majority shareholder as a result.

source : Daily mail