Angelina Jolie Just Blocked Brad Pitt From Accessing 22 of Her Confidential Files. Their $164 Million Trial Is August 2027.

Angelina Jolie, director of Without Blood, at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2024. Credit: John Sears / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The custody battle is over. Knox and Vivienne turned 18 on July 12 and California courts lost jurisdiction. What Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie now have left is a $164 million lawsuit over a French vineyard - and a discovery fight that just produced a ruling in Jolie’s favor.

In May 2026, Judge Cindy Panuco of Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that Pitt could not compel Jolie to hand over 22 confidential emails between Jolie and her sales team, finding that Pitt had “not met his burden” to override her privilege claims. The ruling protected communications at the center of Jolie’s legal strategy.

The War Behind the Wine

The Miraval lawsuit began when Pitt sued Jolie in 2022 after she sold her 50 percent stake in Chateau Miraval - a French estate valued at $164 million - to a subsidiary of Stoli Group. Pitt alleged she violated a right of first refusal embedded in their ownership agreement. Jolie has contested that claim and the validity of the agreement itself.

The case before Judge Panuco has become a discovery-intensive battle over what each party can access before trial. In June 2026, the judge partially granted Pitt’s motion to compel depositions of Stoli Group board member Alexey Oliynik and representatives from Tenute del Mondo and Nouvel - a partial win for Pitt’s legal team. But the May ruling protecting Jolie’s 22 emails gave her a significant buffer around her most sensitive communications.

The Documents at the Center

The confidential emails in question were exchanged between Jolie and her sales team during the period surrounding the Stoli transaction - communications that Pitt’s lawyers argued were central to understanding whether the sale was designed to circumvent his rights. The judge found Pitt had not shown sufficient grounds to override the privilege. Those documents will not be in Pitt’s possession when the August 2027 trial begins.

What Remains Unresolved

Trial is set for August 2027 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Discovery continues. The custody conflict is documented and complete. The financial one - over what the marriage became after 2016, what the vineyard was worth, and who gets to keep it - moves to a courtroom next year with the underlying question of the sale still unanswered by any judge.

References: Pitt-Jolie Custody Ends July 2026 When Twins Turn 18 | Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Twins Knox and Vivienne Turn 18 | Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Custody Agreement Ends