Angelina Jolie has won a major legal victory against her ex-husband Brad Pitt after a judge ruled that he must hand over documents and communications that could prove he abused the actress and her children.
The former A-list couple appear determined to dig up the past and throw everything they can into the midst of their bitter legal battle over their French vineyard.
The ongoing feud has seen the feuding exes attack each other in legal filings since Pitt sued Jolie in 2022 for selling her stake in her Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rosé.
Legal documents seen by DailyMail.com show that the communications Pitt, 60, was ordered to produce begin on the day Jolie claims he abused her on a private plane shortly before their 2016 separation.
She previously accused him of spilling red wine and beer on her ex and one of the couple’s children on a private plane.
Pitt has always denied any abuse and was cleared by authorities after an investigation, although his ex-wife claimed in her documents that his “history of physical abuse” began “long before” the plane incident.
Brad Pitt has been ordered to hand over documents and communications that his ex-wife Angelina Jolie says will prove he tried to cover up his domestic violence against her and their children. The actress is pictured with Knox Jolie-Pitt, 16, last month.
Jolie, 49, asked the court to force her ex-husband to reveal anything between September 14, 2016 and December 31, 2018.
That will include emails, text messages and other written communications, but nothing between him and his attorneys or therapists.
The Maleficent actress filed documents in July claiming the actor tried to force her to sign an $8.5 million nondisclosure agreement to cover up “years of abuse.”
At the same time, his legal team asked that the court force Pitt to disclose “private third-party communications” he had about his family’s 2016 plane trip that resulted in Jolie filing for divorce.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lia Martin issued the ruling last Monday, after Jolie’s lawyers said the documents would prove her claims that Pitt tried to force her to sign a confidentiality agreement.
He claims the gag order would have prevented him from speaking about the alleged abuse, amid a verbal agreement that he would sell his half of the winery to Pitt.
Jolie had accused her ex-husband of spilling red wine and beer on her and their children during an altercation on a private plane in 2016, allegations he denies.
Now, in the course of the ongoing legal battle over her southern France winery, Chateau Miraval (pictured), Jolie doubled down on her allegations of abuse.
In the ongoing legal battle, Brad Pitt demanded his ex-wife hand over documents from previous agreements she had entered into with third parties after she claimed he had backed out of the deal due to its ‘cruel’ NDA clause. He is pictured at the castle with his business partner Marc Perrin.
Jolie’s lawyers say the documents will prove “communications about abuse, lies to authorities and years of cover-up” by Pitt.
Pitt’s legal team requested that the motion be denied, saying the requests were “broad and intrusive.”
The actors’ lawyers also called the filing a “sensational fishing expedition,” and sources called the latest ruling “irrelevant” since the actor has already provided “a lot of information.”
Paul Murphy, Jolie’s lawyer, called the documents “crucial evidence” that Pitt has “fought for years to conceal.”
In a statement he said: “His actions harmed Angelina and her children and are central to this case.”
‘But I want to emphasize again that Angelina never wanted any of this. She never pressed charges, abandoned all her property, and was the one who tried to sell him the business in the first place.
Pitt was shocked when his ex-wife sold half of their stunning Chateau Miraval estate without his consent to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021.
The southern French chateau, where the couple married in 2014, became Pitt’s “passion” and one of the most respected rosé wine producers in the world.
‘To this day, Mr. Pitt has never been held accountable for his actions and at all times has controlled Miraval and the winery, but he still demands more. She wants this to end, the kids want this to end, and Mr. Pitt should focus on healing his family, not filing lawsuits.
It comes after Pitt himself scored a major legal victory, when Judge Martin dismissed Jolie’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.
“It’s already been ugly, but it’s going to get even uglier when Angie insists on retaliating against Brad and trying to settle old, more personal scores,” a source told DailyMail.com.
“And it will also be more costly, as their legal disputes have already cost both sides millions.”
Court documents suggest that the judge found basis in Pitt’s claims that their original oral agreement was binding, and that Jolie may have violated them when she sold her shares to Russian businessman Yuri Shefler and his Stoli Group in 2021.
Pitt’s lawyers say Jolie violated their agreement not to sell her stake in Miraval without the permission of both parties.
With the three submissions dismissed, the former A-list couple, who married at the Provence estate in southern France in 2014 and separated in 2016, will face each other in court at next year’s trial.
Pitt filed the $67 million lawsuit against Jolie in 2022, less than a year after the shares were sold.
Jolie faces potential lawsuits for damages if she does not undo the agreement she made with Yuri Shefler regarding the sale of her stake in Miraval.
Their frustration over Pitt being awarded joint custody of their children in 2021 suggests the dispute has become very personal for the couple, going beyond the original business issue.
Jolie has also been accused of trying to drive a wedge between her ex-husband and their six children after their separation.
Jolie has been accused of trying to drive a wedge between her ex-husband and their six children after their separation (pictured in 2014).
Jolie and Pitt first acquired the winery, Chateau Miraval, in 2008, when they had been romantically involved for years but were not yet married; photographed in Cannes in 2009
Pitt’s team claims she believes her dealings with Shefler were “justified” because of the confidentiality agreement her ex-husband asked her to sign.
He was dealt another blow earlier this year after the court ruled that he must produce all confidentiality agreements he signed with a third party over an eight-year period from 2014, the year they married, until 2022.
NDAs have become a key battleground in the Chateau Miraval dispute after Jolie claimed she backed out of her deal because Pitt asked her to sign one as part of their business deal.
She claims it was an “unconscionable” attempt by her ex-partner to “control” her after their separation in April 2019, and her lawyers asked the Los Angeles Superior Court to cancel the sale due to their agreement not to sell to a third.
But Pitts’ lawyers have argued that Jolie’s objection to the NDA was actually just a cover she invented to “rationalize” her betrayal of Pitt by deciding to sell her stake behind his back.
The Fight Club star’s lawyers also claim that Jolie herself “weaponized” the NDAs and asked Pitt to sign a broader NDA just six months later as part of their divorce settlement talks.
Pitt’s legal team asked him in previous filings to clarify confidentiality agreements he entered into with third parties, including staff.
Pitt has scored several legal victories in the battle over the winery, including a key ruling in Luxembourg that returned him control of the award-winning vineyard pending further hearings.
In March, the Los Angeles Superior Court rejected allegations that her lawsuit was “frivolous, malicious and part of a problematic pattern.”