Brad Pitt Scores Another Court Win as Angelina Jolie Winery War Drags On

Caption: Brad Pitt at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in 2024. Credit: Harald Krichel, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Brad Pitt’s long-running legal fight with Angelina Jolie over their former French winery picked up new momentum this month, with a California court compelling testimony from the buyers behind Jolie’s 2021 sale.

What You Should Know

The Superior Court of California granted a motion on June 17 ordering executives at the Stoli Group, the company that acquired Jolie’s 50 percent stake in Chateau Miraval, to sit for depositions in London by September 30, according to People. Pitt sued Jolie in February 2022, alleging she violated a mutual agreement requiring his consent before selling her share of the roughly $164 million Provence estate, where the couple wed in 2014.

The Public Image Problem

A separate ruling on June 24 went further, with California’s Court of Appeals reversing an earlier decision and finding that Stoli Group founder Yuri Shefler, a Geneva-based businessman, can be sued in California over the transaction, according to People. The court rejected Shefler’s claim of a “minimal role” in the sale, writing it “defies credulity” that he would risk nearly $40 million on a deal he knew nothing about. Jolie countersued in September 2022, accusing Pitt of waging a “vindictive war” against her since their 2016 divorce filing.

The Receipts

“This win is another step towards transparency over what took place,” a source close to Pitt told People. A separate hearing on compelling Shefler’s own deposition is scheduled for July 8, and depositions of Stoli Group’s “persons most qualified” must take place in London before the September 30 deadline.

What Happens Next

Trial remains scheduled for February 1, 2027, though Jolie’s legal team has asked for a nine-month postponement to November 2027. With multiple depositions still to come, the case appears to be entering its most consequential phase yet ahead of any settlement or trial.

References: People