Brad Pitt Lawyers Reveal Angelina Jolie 'Abusing Privilege' To Hide Winery Secrets: Report

In a courtroom drama that continues to eclipse the most sensational Hollywood scripts, Brad Pitt has secured a definitive legal victory against his former wife, Angelina Jolie.

The long-standing feud over their shared French estate and winery, Château Miraval, reached a critical juncture this week as a Los Angeles judge delivered a ruling that could strip away layers of secrecy surrounding the high-stakes transaction that fractured their professional ties.

The 1,200-acre estate, situated in the picturesque village of Correns—the first 100% organic village in France—was once the symbol of their union and the site of their 2014 wedding.

The timing of the choice has its own poetic meaning. The decision came down on Wednesday, December 17, just twenty-four hours before Pitt's 62nd birthday. The F1 star probably sees the court's order as an early gift in a fight that has been called 'The War of the Rosés.'

Since Jolie sold her share in 2021, the fight has gotten a lot worse, turning a shared passion project into a legal battle that spans several continents.

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The most recent discovery dispute was overseen by Superior Court Judge Lia Martin, who ultimately sided with Pitt's legal team in their fight for openness, RadarOnline.com reported. The court has now told Jolie, 50, to give over a lot of emails and text messages she sent to her personal staff and advisors.

These documents specifically relate to the 2021 sale of her portion of the vineyard—a transaction Pitt claims was carried out in direct violation of a mutual agreement. Pitt alleges he invested nearly $50 million (£39.5 million) more into the business than Jolie, building the brand into a world-class producer of rosé in partnership with the esteemed Perrin family.

The core of the dispute dates back to 2008, when the couple originally purchased the estate for approximately €25 million (£20.8 million). Pitt alleges that they had a binding understanding: neither would sell their shares without the other's express consent.

However, in 2021, the Maleficent actress sold her stake to Russian businessman Yuri Shefler of the Stoli Group for a staggering $67 million. Pitt has since maintained that this move was intended to undermine his control of the business and damage the brand he helped build, labelling Shefler an 'aggressive third-party competitor.'

Jolie's legal team had previously attempted to shield these communications under the guise of non-disclosure agreements and attorney-client privilege. They argued that the messages were 'reasonably necessary to help me receive the legal advice I needed.'

However, Pitt's lawyers countered that the actress was 'abusing the privilege to bury critical documents that go to the heart of the case.' The actor's team specifically highlighted that many of the redacted documents likely contain instructions Jolie gave to her team to intentionally keep Pitt 'in the dark' during the secret negotiations with Shefler.

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The judge's order requires Jolie to produce unredacted versions of correspondence involving her longtime business manager, Terry Bird, as well as her aides, Chloe Dalton and Lady Arminka Helic. Both Dalton and Helic are well-known in UK political circles, having previously served as special advisers to the former Foreign Secretary, William Hague.

While Jolie describes these individuals as essential members of her advisory team, Pitt's representatives have been more dismissive, branding the duo 'image consultants' whose involvement in business negotiations should not be protected by legal privilege.

Questions were raised regarding 'sentence-by-sentence redactions' in documents already submitted, which Pitt's team believes conceal crucial directives from Jolie regarding the Shefler deal. The actor's lawyers have argued that the actress has been 'disingenuous since the start,' suggesting the upcoming disclosures will prove she intentionally bypassed her former partner to finalise the lucrative sale. The court's decision involves 22 disputed documents that must now be produced in full.

Beyond her personal aides, the order also encompasses records between Jolie and her financial consultants, Marjorie Brabet-Friel and James Friel. Jolie has 45 days to comply with the order, a deadline that ensures the new year will begin with a significant shift in the legal landscape. This 45-day window is seen as a critical turning point, as the unredacted texts could potentially corroborate Pitt's claims of a 'tortious interference' with his business relations.

They officially got divorced in December 2023, but the winery lawsuit is still a bitter reminder of their marriage. Jolie has called the lawsuit 'frivolous' in the past, but the court's most recent action shows that the legal system thinks it is worth looking into more.

The path to a solution is still long, hard, and very public, with mediation set for October 28, 2026, and a trial set for February 1, 2027. For now, the fight over the soul of Château Miraval goes on, with both stars refusing to give up the multi-million-pound legacy they built together.

As the high-stakes 'War of the Rosés' moves toward its next chapter, all eyes remain on the 45-day deadline for Angelina Jolie to produce the unredacted documents that could finally expose the truth behind the secret sale of her Château Miraval stake. With hundreds of millions of pounds and the future of a world-class wine brand hanging in the balance, this legal saga is far from over.