Angelina Jolie wins bid to block release of her private messages in Brad Pitt legal battle

Hollywood sweetheart Angelina Jolie has won a brutal legal battle against her ex-husband Brad Pitt over the sale of their French winery.

Crucially, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Pitt, 62, cannot force Jolie, 50, to publicly share a set of private emails connected to her share in Chateau Miraval as the communications are protected.

Pitt’s attempt to override Jolie’s claim that the emails are protected was denied by the judge as it was ruled “he has not met his burden”.

However, the motion was “denied without prejudice”, meaning that Pitt could raise the issue again at a later date.

In a statement, Jolie’s counsel for the matter, Paul Murphy, said, “This is an important victory for Ms. Jolie. The decision shows that Mr. Pitt was completely out of bounds when he sought access to obviously privileged documents.

“Remember, he initially demanded 126 privileged documents, but then backtracked to 22, and now Mr. Pitt is getting nothing, zero.

“This is part of Mr. Pitt’s pattern of demanding control over anything Angelina, including control over her communications with her own attorneys. We are extremely gratified that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court ultimately put a stop to it.”

When did the battle begin?

Jolie sold her 50 percent stake in the Château Miraval winery in October 2021 to a subsidiary of alcohol producer and distributor, the Stoli Group.

The news marks the latest move in the Fight Club actor’s long-running fight to access communications surrounding the sale of Jolie’s share of the estate.

Pitt first filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife in 2022, claiming that she had broken an agreement that neither party would sell their stakes in Miraval unless the other approved, when she sold her shares to the Stoli group.

The trial began in October last year when Pitt’s legal team submitted into evidence communications to and from Jolie’s team regarding her 2021 sale of her stake in the French winery, which the former couple, who also share six children, co-owned.

Why is this such an important victory for Jolie?

One piece of evidence seen by the court was an email in which the star of Disney’s Maleficent’s lawyers responded to a lawsuit from Pitt, alleging millions of dollars worth of damages.

An Email dated October 2023 from Jolie’s team also mentions that Pitt was “seeking ongoing damages for alleged harm to Miraval’s ongoing operations.”

At the time, Pitt rallied for Jolie’s communications, particularly with her business team to be handed over, then the actor also asked the judge to force Jolie to turn over emails with her business manager, Terry Bird, her British publicists, Chloe Dalton and Arminka Helic, as well as two financial consultants.

In documents revealed at the time, Jolie admitted that she had regular conversations with Bird about “all aspects” of her business and professional life, she claimed that they were part of a legal strategy and therefore protected.

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