- Angelina Jolie’s former company accuses Brad Pitt of waging vindictive war.
- Pitt had taken over the winery in southeast France.
- Jolie’s former investment firm that holds a share in the Château Miraval vineyard.
Angelina Jolie’s former investment business accused Brad Pitt of waging a “vindictive war” in a countersuit, it filed against her ex-husband in a contentious dispute over a French vineyard the American actors formerly shared.
Pitt had taken over the winery in southeast France, according to Nouvel LLC, Jolie’s former investment firm that holds a share in the Château Miraval vineyard. Pitt’s countersuit was submitted on Tuesday.
Brad Pitt has been running a vicious campaign against her and Nouvel since his former wife, Angelina, filed for divorce from him in 2016, it claimed.
The lawsuit also claimed that Pitt “looted” the vineyard’s priceless trademarks and wasted its resources on vanity ventures.
According to Nouvel’s countersuit, which was submitted to California state court in Los Angeles, “Pitt has frozen Nouvel out of Chateau Miraval and treats it as his personal domain.”
Pitt’s “unlawful and oppressive conduct” is the basis of Nouvel’s demand for at least $250 million in damages. Last year, Jolie sold Nouvel.
Pitt filed a lawsuit against Jolie and Nouvel in February, claiming that she had illegally sold her ownership in Château Miraval to a global alcoholic beverage corporation. The couple, who are both Oscar winners, were married there in 2014.
On Thursday, enquiries were not immediately answered by Jolie and Pitt’s attorneys. The lawyers for Nouvel declined to comment.
The 1,300-acre Chateau Miraval was purchased by Jolie and Pitt in 2008. Between Marseille and Nice, in the village of Correns, is where the vineyard is situated.
In the court document, Nouvel claimed that Jolie tried to sell Pitt her 50% ownership following their divorce in 2016 but was unable to do so due to Pitt’s “unreasonable demands.”
Pitt refused to agree to give up his complete control of Nouvel, which Jolie sold to wine distributor Stoli Group in October 2021, according to the countersuit.
In his lawsuit, Pitt claimed that he and Jolie had made a pact not to ever sell their joint ownership stakes in the vineyard without the other’s approval. According to Pitt, the sale was outside the terms of the contract and infringed his right to first refusal.
Jolie had stopped making contributions to Chateau Miraval while Pitt continued to “pour money and sweat equity” into the company, according to Pitt, who also claimed Jolie was not entitled to “unearned windfall gains” from the sale.
[embedpost slug=”angelina-jolie-sues-ex-husband-brad-pitt-for-250-million/”]
