Photo:Mike Marsland/WireImage; Mike Marsland/WireImage
Mike Marsland/WireImage; Mike Marsland/WireImage
Brad Pittis suing ex-wifeAngelina Jolie, saying she deliberately kept him in the dark about the sale of her share of their family wine business to a Russian oligarch. The Oscar-winning actor claims in new court documents that — amid the continued war in Ukraine — the association presents an “existential threat to the business” due to the new part owner’s ties to Russia.
Thefirst amended complaintabout the winery, filed in February 2022, sought damages for declaratory relief, disgorgement, and damages, along with pre- and post-judgment interest for the defendants’ alleged tortious interference with contractual relations.
Jason Merritt/Getty
Pitt reportedly learned of Jolie’s alleged putative sale via a press release.
The lawsuit claims the purported sale was “unlawful" due to “contractual agreement” breaches between Jolie and Pitt “to hold Miraval together and not sell their interests separately without the other’s consent.”
A source close to Jolie tells PEOPLE: “Mr. Pitt saying that he is suing his ex wife to protect his family is hard to understand because he is well aware the children have not felt able to return to the house in France for almost seven years now due to the events that led to Ms. Jolie filing for divorce.”
In 2008, Pitt, 59, and Jolie, 47, purchased a controlling interest inChâteau Miraval S.A., a French entity comprising a home and vineyard in the south of France, the same place the pair tied the knot in 2014.
“But in the summer of 2021, amid aheated child custody disputewith Pitt, Jolie terminated those discussions and secretly purported to sell a 50% stake in the family home and family business,” the legal document describes.
In September 2022, Jolie’s former companyfired backwith its own countersuit against her ex over the wine business.
Jolie’s former business Nouvel is seeking more than $250 million in damages, accusing Pitt of “waging a vindictive war against” Jolie ever since shefiled for divorceback in 2016.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
The lawsuit alleged Pitt “wasted its assets, spending millions on vanity projects, including more than $1 million on swimming pool renovations and other funds restoring a recording studio.”
A rep for Jolie did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Tom Bove, an American winemaker who owned the property in 1992, became one of France’s top producers of organic wine.
source: people.com
