Brad Pitt Sues Angelina Jolie for Secretly Selling $164 Million Chateau Miraval Estate, Winery Share to Russian Oligarch
(Photo : MARK RALSTON)
Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arri
Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere Of DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 2" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. on May 22, 2011. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Brad Pitt has filed a lawsuit against Angelina Jolie over a commercial transaction she made with Chateau Miraval, the vineyard they bought as a couple near Correns, France, and which she later sold to Russian tycoon Yuri Shefler.

In legal documents obtained by TMZ, the 58-year-old actor asks the court to overturn a deal Jolie, 46, signed with Stoli Group subsidiary Tenute del Mondo, which is controlled by Shefler, and pay him damages in connection with the transaction.

Brad Pitt Sues Angelina Jolie

According to court documents, the Shawnee, Oklahoma-born actor, and Jolie bought the vineyard for $28.4 million in 2008, with her putting down around 40% of the money (about $11.36 million).

Pitt said that he invested significantly more effort and money into the winery to make it viable and that by 2013 she hadn't even come close to matching his efforts on either front. Pitt told the court that he and Jolie had promised not to sell their shares in the vineyard without any of the party's permission.

Jolie later filed for divorce in September 2016, resulting in a multi-front court struggle that lasted until 2022. Pitt stated in legal documents that the actress notified the court in July 2021 that she wished to sell her portion of the vineyard and that in September 2021 he agreed to let Jolie choose a buyer over whom he would have approval powers.

Pitt testified in court that he learned in October 2021 that Jolie had sold her part to Shefler's group and did not seek his consent or reveal the terms despite their prior agreement. He told the court that Shefler's participation had harmed his capacity to manage the winery efficiently.

According to a Pitt insider, Jolie disregarded her legal and ethical obligations in selling her share to Shefler, and in doing so, she has infringed on the rights of the only person who invested money and sweat equity into the company's success by purporting to sell both the company and the family home to a third-party competitor.

Jolie is looking for a return on an investment she didn't make and earnings she didn't create. Pitt and Jolie, who married in 2014 and divorced in 2016, have been enmeshed in the legal system for the past five years or more, fighting over a variety of concerns.
Pitt and his children, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and Vivienne and Knox, 13, were granted shared custody of their youngest children in May. Maddox, their 20-year-old son, is their other child, according to Daily Mail.

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Did Brad Pitt Break His Promise to Hurricane Katrina Victims?

As he faces legal action over residences built in New Orleans, Brad Pitt has been accused of making "broken promises" to Hurricane Katrina victims.

Following the destruction wreaked along the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Hollywood film star's Make It Right Foundation funded the building of 109 solar-powered homes in the city's lower-income Ninth Ward.

However, it was later discovered that the homes were poorly planned and built before being sold to local homeowners, resulting in mold and termite infestations, premature decaying, and a class-action lawsuit.

Atty. Ron Austin, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of locals in 2018, stated on NewsNation's Banfield that the 58-year-old actor had let the inhabitants of New Orleans down with the troubled project.

Following Hurricane Katrina's damage, Pitt aided in the fundraising for the dwellings, which were reported to be pioneering architectural and technology solutions to resist hurricanes in the region. As an adjustment to local inhabitants' economic levels, the dwellings, which were erected on raised posts and included solar panels, sold for roughly $150,000 apiece, Newsweek via MSN reported.

Related Article: Brad Pitt's Green Housing Dream For Hurricane Katrina Survivors in New Orleans Turns Into Another Disaster

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