Angelina Jolie is pushing back against Brad Pitt's latest effort to obtain years of her financial records, arguing he has repeatedly mischaracterized her claims in their long-running legal battle over Château Miraval, according to a recent court filing obtained by the press.
In the filing submitted on June 26 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Jolie asked the court not to require her to turn over tax returns and other financial records dating back to 2017. Pitt's June 18 filing had asked her to 'produce documents sufficient to show her income and profit participation payments' from 2017 through 2019.
'Jolie has made her alleged financial vulnerability central to her case,' Pitt's filing stated. However, her attorneys argued that Pitt was incorrectly portraying her as having claimed she was in financial distress, when her legal filings instead described her efforts to separate her finances from her ex-husband.
'The issue is not whether Jolie needed the money — the issue is that she was trying to untangle her life and her finances from her controlling and abusive ex-husband,' the filing stated. 'That distinction makes all the difference.'
Background of the Legal Battle
The dispute over Château Miraval, a French winery the couple once owned together, began in February 2022 when Pitt sued Jolie over the sale of her interest in the property. Pitt alleged that Jolie sold her stake despite a prior agreement that neither would do so without the other's approval. Jolie later filed a countersuit, accusing Pitt of 'waging a vindictive war' against her since she filed for divorce in 2016.
The former spouses reached a divorce settlement in December 2024, but the legal battle over the winery has continued. Château Miraval, located in the South of France, was a joint investment that included a vineyard and a recording studio. It was also the venue for their 2014 wedding.
Jolie's Argument
Jolie's attorneys contend that she has 'never alleged that she was in financial distress.' Instead, they maintain that she sought financial independence from Pitt as part of the divorce process. 'Her allegations are clear that she sought to untangle her financial life from the ex-spouse she was divorcing,' the filing added.
The legal team argued that Pitt's request for records from 2017 to 2019 was based on 'selective quotes and inaccurate paraphrasing' rather than what Jolie actually alleged. They claimed that turning over those records would be 'a serious invasion of Jolie's privacy rights.' Jolie has already provided her tax returns and profit participation statements for 2020 and 2021, which her attorneys say was generous given that she wasn't required to do so.
Pitt's Position
Pitt's lawyers argued that Jolie made her financial condition relevant to the case by alleging she wanted 'financial independence' and had 'concluded that she needed to sell her interest in Chateau Miraval' to achieve it. They insisted that 'Jolie has made her financial condition central to her cross-claim and defense. She cannot now use her alleged financial vulnerability as a sword while simultaneously invoking privacy interests as a shield against scrutiny.'
In his June 18 filing, Pitt noted that Jolie was 'one of Hollywood's most prominent and highly compensated actresses, with income streams from major studio projects and profit-participation rights.' He listed her roles in franchises such as Disney's Maleficent and Marvel's Eternals, with the former grossing well over $1 billion worldwide and the latter earning approximately $402.1 million. Pitt suggested that these earnings made her claims of financial vulnerability questionable.
Recent Developments
The latest filing is just one chapter in the ongoing legal saga. Last month, a California Superior Court granted Pitt's request to question members of the Stoli Group under oath, as his attorneys argued that the spirits-and-wine company had direct knowledge of Jolie's 2021 sale of her stake in the winery. The Stoli Group is involved in the distribution of Miraval wines, and Pitt's legal team believes its executives can provide key insight into the sale.
Jolie's filing also challenged Pitt's characterization of her motives. 'Discovery motion practice should be grounded in what actually appears in the pleadings, not on recharacterizations designed to grab headlines but that have no basis in reality,' the filing stated.
Both sides have reached out to the press for comment, but no further statements have been made public as of now. The legal battle continues to unfold in Los Angeles Superior Court, with no end in sight.
Source: MSN News