Brad Pitt is on the verge of scoring a major court victory in his ongoing battle with ex Angelina Jolie after a judge said he would grant the actor’s request to force Jolie to hand over confidentiality agreements she has entered into, including those signed by your staff.
The couple continues to fight over their decision to sell their shares in the $500 million business to a Russian businessman.
Pitt maintains that they agreed, as part of their divorce, not to sell any shares in the company without the other party’s agreement.
In court Thursday, Pitt’s attorneys argued that nondisclosure agreements would be “highly probative.”
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie continue to fight over shares she sold to a Russian billionaire
Jolie sold her shares in the French winery to a Russian billionaire who controls the Stoli Group.
Judge Lia Martin said she was “inclined” to grant Pitt’s motion, which would mean Jolie would have to hand over all confidentiality agreements she entered into with various third parties since 2014.
“I don’t see this as a character issue,” Judge Lia Martin told lawyers for both sides in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday.
‘Maybe there are agreements that [Jolie] entered into with persons who may or may not have similar terms. The court does not rule today on the admissibility of the documents.’
The judge said she would issue her final order Thursday afternoon.
Jolie’s lawyers disagreed with the judge’s interim ruling and said Pitt’s NDA demands are being used as a weapon against the actress.
Paul Murphy, one of Jolie’s lawyers, said Pitt is seeking access to confidentiality agreements as a tactic to hide “years of abuse” the actor inflicted on his client and her six children.
The couple’s Miraval winery in France. The business, valued at about $500 million, is now the source of an ongoing legal dispute.
In court records, Jolie made explosive claims that Pitt physically abused her outside of the 2016 flight when their children were present. Her lawyers claimed that Pitt made Jolie sign a confidentiality agreement as part of an “unconscionable” attempt to control her and her interests in Miraval.
Jolie sold her shares to Russian billionaire Stoli, Yuri Shefler
The years of abuse were the reason Jolie refused to sell her Miraval shares to Pitt and instead sold her stake to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021, her lawyers said in court documents obtained by DailyMail.com.
“He wanted to cover up his conduct because he couldn’t stand what he was covering up,” Murphy said in court Thursday. ‘Mister. Pitt’s abuse, the cover-up of him and his actions, cheating on his children… that’s what changed.”
Murphy asked the judge to consider several factors if approving Pitt’s request, including limiting disclosure to nondisclosure agreements signed by Jolie only in 2020-2021, and not agreements related to her companies.
Pitt’s lawyer, John Berlinski, said they should also have the right to see Jolie’s confidentiality agreements related to all of her businesses, since actors often use their company’s name when signing deals.
Berlinski also argued that confidentiality agreements would be relevant to the Miraval case since Jolie allegedly had others, including her staff, sign “gag orders” to prevent them from speaking about what they witnessed while working at her home, including her treatment. gave to Pitt and his children.
“She was the one who weaponized the NDA and threatened to sue security guards simply if they testified,” Berlinski said during Thursday’s hearing. “That’s significant.”