Angelina Jolie Fires Back At Ex Brad Pitt’s Accusation She’s Refusing To Produce Documents In Battle Over $164 Million French Estate
Dec. 14 2022, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Angelina Jolie has responded to her ex-husband Brad Pitt’s accusation she’s dragging her feet on turning over key documents in their bitter court battle — and argued some of his requests invade both her and her family’s “privacy rights,” RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Jolie and her legal team accuse Pitt of jumping the gun with his demand for a discovery conference.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, earlier this year, Pitt, 58, sued his ex-wife Jolie, 47, after she sold off her interest in a $164 million French estate and vineyard named Chateau Miraval S.A.
The couple purchased the property while married. Pitt said he spent a ton of time and money in turning it into a successful business for their children. The Bullet Train star said they agreed not to sell their separate interest in the company without the other’s approval.
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016 after an incident on a private airplane where she claimed he got physical with her and their children. He has denied the allegations. The two have been battling out in court ever since.
In 2021, Pitt said Jolie told him she could no longer hold interest in a liquor company and wanted to sell her share. He said they agreed to work together to find a buyer.
Before a buyer could be found. Pitt said a decision came down in their custody battle that was unfavorable to Jolie. He claimed she then withdrew from talks and sold off her stake to a company named Tenute del Mondo that is “indirectly owned and controlled” by a Russian oligarch named Yuri Shefler.
In court documents, Pitt said Shefler and his company have attempted a “hostile” takeover of the business. He wants the court to find Jolie’s sale was invalid.
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In response, Jolie’s company Nouvel filed a $250 million countersuit against Pitt accusing him of attempting to seize control of Chateau Miraval. In addition, it accused him of wasting company assets for his benefit and spending millions on vanity projects.
Jolie, individually, called the lawsuit “frivolous”, “malicious” and “part of a problematic pattern.”
Recently, Pitt accused Jolie of dragging her feet on turning over documents he requested. He said his ex-wife and her company were “refusing to produce any documents” until the judge ruled on pending motions.
Pitt accused Jolie’s company Nouvel of having refused “to provide basic document discovery” including the sale agreement it signed with Shefler.
The judge had granted Pitt’s motion and scheduled a conference for later this month. However, Jolie has now opposed the request.
In her filing, the actress said she is “of course willing to engage in discovery and produce relevant documents” but said she wants her ex to comply the court’s schedule.
In court documents, Jolie said the court had ordered all discovery in the case to be stayed until October 3. She said on that date, Pitt’s attorney sent over an email demanding a ton of documents within days.
Jolie said she responded to Pitt’s demand for expedited discovery by objecting to all his requests on the grounds it violated the Court’s order and “and she also asserted numerous individual objections to the discovery as invading her attorney-client privilege and the privacy rights of Jolie and her family.”
Further, she argued a conference would not allow her time to address her numerous objections to his various requests.
Jolie adds that she is “willing to produce all responsive, discoverable documents, and has already negotiated a protective order that has been submitted to the Court.” However, she wants to wait until the judge makes rulings on important matters in the next couple of weeks.
Jolie points out Pitt indicated he may file an amended complaint next month.
She said, “discovery will involve complicated privilege and privacy issues relating to the parties and their families, and involve the gathering of documents over two continents. The discovery will also be extremely expensive, with the costs multiplying each time that collection process is repeated. At a minimum, document discovery should not commence at least until Pitt files his amended complaint.”
Pitt has yet to respond to Jolie’s objection.