Brad Pitt's legal win against Angelina Jolie in winery battle

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Pitt and Jolie’s divorce was officially finalized in 2024 but litigation over the winery rages on

Published Jun 26, 2026 • Last updated 5 hours ago • 3 minute read

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Angelina Jolie (R) poses for photographs along with Brad Pitt as they arrive for the premiere of the film “Maleficent” at Kensington Palace in London on May 8, 2014. Photo by Carl Court/AFP /Getty ImagesArticle content

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Brad Pitt scored a win in his lengthy legal battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie over the winery in France they once owned.

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The exes have been fighting for years over Chateau Miravel, beginning in 2021 when Jolie sold it to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group, without Pitt’s consent.

The Superior Court of California on June 17 granted a motion from Pitt’s legal team compelling depositions from members of the Stoli Group after they argued that investors from the spirits and wine giant had firsthand knowledge of Jolie’s 2021 sale, according to a court document obtained by PEOPLE.

How and when the dispute began

In 2022, Pitt sued Jolie, alleging the sale violated a mutual agreement that neither party could sell their sake without the other’s approval.

The following year, the F1 actor filed further claims against his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star, claiming she intentionally damaged the business by selling to the Stoli Group, which Pitt accused of being a “Russia-affiliated spirits conglomerate.”

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At the time, Pitt’s team argued that the Stoli Group “has been the subject of repeated boycotts in connection with Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and homophobic legislative Agenda.”

That connection through Jolie’s unapproved sale “jeopardizes the reputation of the business that Pitt so carefully built,” his lawyers declared, per PEOPLE.

The Stoli Group is run by Yuri Shefler, a Russian expatriate billionaire who resides in Switzerland.

Jolie filed documents slamming Pitt, calling him a “petulant child” and his accusations against Shefler a “xenophobic, untrue smear campaign,” the magazine reported at the time.

In June 2025, Pitt filed court documents attempting to depose the Stoli Group’s Alexey Oliynik, who allegedly refused to turn over relevant documents or appear for a deposition, arguing that he could not be forced to do so as a resident of Switzerland, the court docs state.

Pitt and Jolie’s divorce was officially finalized in 2024 but litigation over the winery rages on.

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An aerial view taken on May 31, 2008 in Le Val, southeastern France, shows the Chateau Miraval, a vineyard estate previously owned by US businessman Tom Bove, who sold it to Pitt and Jolie. (Michel Gangne/AFP/Getty Images) Photo by Michel Gangne/AFP /Getty ImagesNow what?

The June 17 motion indicates that depositions of “persons most qualified” from the Stoli Group’s wine division Tenute del Mondo B.V. and Nouvel LLC — including Oliynik — will happen by Sept. 30.

Further, on June 24, California’s Court of Appeals filed a reversal of its decision regarding Shefler’s involvement in the Chateau Miraval sale, PEOPLE reported.

“It defies credulity that Shefler, a sophisticated businessman, would risk almost $40 million on a transaction about which he knew nothing and with which he had no involvement,” the court found after Shefler claimed he had a “minimal role” in the sale.

A hearing on a motion to compel deposition from Shefler will take place on July 8.

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Win… win?

“This win is another step towards transparency over what took place,” a Pitt source told the publication, adding that Shefler “was a partner (Jolie) chose knowing it was a partner Brad did not want involved in the business.”

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The recent court rulings mean that the Stoli Group “will have to explain exactly how the deal was orchestrated,” according to the insider.

A lawyer for Jolie told PEOPLE that the recent rulings have “no impact on the merits of the case, and certainly has no impact on Ms. Jolie’s case.”

They added: “At this point, Ms. Jolie is just looking forward to defeating the case at trial next year so that their family can finally focus their energies on healing and moving on.”

Another Jolie source insisted that the Wanted actress “did not sell to Stoli for any reason other than she expected Stoli to be an excellent world-wide distribution partner who could help grow the business for the benefit of their children, who stood to inherit Brad’s portion.”

They added, “The truth is that Pitt’s ego and obsession for control got in the way. Brad refused to work with Stoli simply because Angie chose them, not him.”

Last month, Jolie scored a win of her own, after a judge ruled that 22 private communications to her ex-husband’s legal team did not have to be turned over, and were protected by attorney-client privilege.

“This is an important victory for Ms. Jolie,” Jolie’s lawyer Paul Murphy said in a statement to People, calling Pitt “completely out of bounds when he sought access to obviously privileged documents.”