Image Source: Cosmopolitan

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are battling for Chateau Miraval Winery!

According to reports, actor Brad Pitt has filed an official lawsuit against ex-wife and actress Angelina Jolie for selling her stake in the French vineyard that the couple brought together and decided not to sell their stakes in the venue without each other’s permission.

Brad Pitt stated that Angelina Jolie and him had previously agreed on not selling their stakes without seeking permission from their now former partners but now it has been reported that the actress had sold her share to a spirits manufacturer owned by a Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler. Brad Pitt is not happy with the move since he was not involved in the decision making process. 

Brad Pitt’s lawyers said, “Chateau Miraval, comprising a home and vineyard in the south of France, had become Brad Pitt's passion and, under his stewardship, had grown into a multimillion-dollar international success story”. The lawsuit filed by the actor claims, "Angelina Jolie consummated the purported sale without Brad Pitt's knowledge, denying Brad Pitt the consent right she owed him and the right of first refusal her business entity owed his. She sold her interest with the knowledge and intention that Shefler and his affiliates would seek to control the business to which Brad Pitt had devoted himself and to undermine Brad Pitt's investment in Miraval.”

The couple got married in the Chateau Miraval Winery. Image Source: Page Six 

The Oscar-winning actor, Brad Pitt stated that he filed the legal documents in Los Angeles on Thursday which helped him ensure the profitability of the vineyard which was “one of the world’s most highly regarded producers of rose wine”. The actor wants to judge to order his ex-wife to undo the deal since the deal was made without his knowledge. The Miraval estate is located in the village of Correns in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France and has 35 rooms and is surrounded by lush gardens with a moat, fountains, aqueducts, a pond, a chapel, and a vineyard in which Brad Pitt says he invested a lot of money.

The couple bought the property in 2008 for about $28.4 million intending to bring their children there and build a family wine business but unfortunately, they decided to split up in 2016. According to court papers, Angelina Jolie had stopped contributing towards the renovations at the property completely by 2013 while Brad Pitt continued to invest his time and money for the property. It was reported that last July, Angelina Jolie went to court, where she informed the judge that she reached an agreement to sell her share of the estate to an unnamed person and Brad Pitt agreed to consider it in September. However, Brad claims that according to their mutual understanding and discussion, he’d be given the right of refusal which was not given to him by the actress.

According to Forbes, Yuri Shefler,  (now owner of Angelina Jolie's 50% of the estate) is the owner of S.P.I. group that produces and sells more than 300 brands of alcohol including Stolichnaya vodka and has about $2.5 billion of net worth.

The lawsuit alleges, in January 2021, “Angelina Jolie informed Brad Pitt in writing that she had reached a ‘painful decision, with a heavy heart’, Jolie explained she had purchased Miraval with Pitt ‘as a family business’ and as the place she believed they ‘would grow old’ together. Nevertheless, she could no longer maintain any ownership position in an alcohol-based business given her personal objections.”

Brad Pitt wants the judge to order Angelina Jolie to undo the deal since the deal was made without his knowledge. Image Source: DNA India 

The wine division of the Stoli Group, Tenute del Mondo, purchased Angelina Jolie’s 50 percent stake in the estate in October 2021 and this surprised Brad Pitt because he is now unable to use the estate as his private home. The lawsuit filed by Brad Pitt further claims, “Jolie seeks to recover unearned windfall profits for herself while inflicting gratuitous harm on Pitt. Jolie long ago stopped contributing to Miraval — while Pitt poured money and sweat equity into the wine business. Jolie seeks to seize profits she has not earned and returns on an investment she did not make. The purported sale deprives Pitt of his right to enjoy his private home and to oversee the business he developed from scratch. Miraval’s success and associated rise in value allowed Jolie an opportunity to capitalize on Pitt’s success and cash out, without ever having lifted a finger to grow the enterprise.”

A source that observed the situation closely mentioned, “Unfortunately, this is another example of the same person disregarding her legal and ethical obligations. In doing so, she has violated the rights of the only person who poured money and sweat equity into the success of the business by purporting to sell both the business and family home to a third-party competitor. She is seeking a return on an investment she did not make and profits she did not earn.”

The couple that decided to lead their lives separately in 2016 have been battling legally on various issues over the past five years and last May, Brad Pitt was awarded the joint custody of their minor kids. The actors are yet to comment on the matter.