Brad Pitt told a judge he’s facing roadblocks in obtaining his ex-wife Angelina Jolie’s private messages, which the actor believes could be crucial evidence in their ugly court battle over their French winery, Us Weekly can report.
On June 30, Pitt, 61, filed court documents, obtained by Us, revealing his struggle to depose a man named Alexey Oliynik, who works for Stoli Group.
Pitt and Jolie, 50, purchased vineyard, Château Miraval, while married. A couple of years after filing for divorce, Jolie sold her stake in Miraval to Stoli. Pitt has opposed the sale and sued to undo it.
In his recent motion, Pitt said he wants Oliynik to turn over communications regarding the transaction or any messages with Jolie and/or her team members.Pitt said Oliynik has refused to appear for a deposition or turn over documents. Oliynik argued he was a resident of Switzerland and could not be forced to appear in the matter, which was filed in California.
The F1 star said the man has firsthand knowledge of the negotiations with Jolie and her team. He said the documents requested go “directly to his core claims” in the case. A source close to the case tells Us, “this is another example of the defendant’s repeated opposition to sharing documents that would provide insight.”
The judge has yet to rule.
As Us previously reported, Pitt and Jolie are preparing for a 15-day trial for which a start date has yet to be set amid their legal battle over the winery.
Pitt held his share of the winery in a company named Mondo Bongo. Jolie held her shares in a company called Nouvel.
The exes split in 2016 but continued to hold their interest in Miraval until Jolie said she wanted out in 2021. Pitt and his team offered $55.4 million for Jolie’s stake.
In 2022, Pitt sued Jolie, claiming she sold off Nouvel to Stoli without his approval, which he said was required. Jolie denied the accusations or that she was required to obtain Pitt’s approval.
For her part, Jolie claimed she backed out of the deal due to Pitt attempting to add a non-disparagement clause to cover up his “years of abuse.” Pitt denied her allegations.
His lawyer scoffed at the idea Jolie backed out of the talks due to the non-disclosure clause.
He believed, “[Jolie] and Nouvel had covertly lined up and tentatively struck a deal with a third party: the Stoli Group, owned and controlled by Russian billionaire, Yuri Shefler.”
The Sun reported that Pitt is also seeking to depose a member of Nouvel.
As Us previously reported, Nouvel filed a countersuit against Pitt as part of the case. It accused Pitt of mismanaging Miraval’s assets and called him out for spending money on vanity projects.
The countersuit alleged, “Pitt and Mondo Bongo have turned Château Miraval into their personal piggy bank.”
It continued, “They have entered into a series of transactions using Château Miraval’s funds that have deprived [Stoli] of the profits and loan repayments to which it is entitled.”
Pitt and his company denied all allegations of wrongdoing and moved to dismiss the countersuit.
The case is ongoing.
Read the full article here
