Angelina Jolie is ‘looking forward’ to trial with ex Brad Pitt over French winery after actor’s major legal wins
Angelina Jolie is ‘looking forward’ to her hearing with ex-husband Brad Pitt amid the former couple’s ongoing legal battle over French winery Chateau Miraval.
It comes after the Daily Mail revealed this week that the 62-year-old actor had recently made a huge legal profit by taking on vodka billionaire Yuri Shefler, who bought Jolie’s shares in the vineyard.
The California Supreme Court also accepted the F1 star’s request to dismiss members of the Stoli Group, led by Shefler, according to a court file obtained on June 17. People.
In June last year, Pitt tried to dismiss the company’s director, Alexey Oliynik. However, 51-year-old Jolie’s lawyers argued that Oliynik did not need to submit documents or be present for the statement because she resides in Switzerland.
However, according to the file, the statements of Oliynik and other ‘most qualified persons’ must be taken in London by September 30 this year.
One of Jolie’s lawyers also told People on Thursday that Pitt’s latest legal wins “have no impact on the merits of the case and certainly no impact on Ms. Jolie’s case.”
Angelina Jolie, 51, is ‘looking forward’ to her upcoming trial with ex-husband Brad Pitt, 62, amid the former couple’s ongoing legal battle over French winery Chateau Miraval
The Maleficent actress is instead ‘looking forward to winning the case at next year’s trial so her family can finally focus their energy on healing and moving on.’
A separate source claimed to People that Pitt ‘refused to work’ with Stoli Group because Jolie was the one who chose the company.
But a person close to the Hollywood actor said their legal victory in the ongoing case was ‘another step towards transparency about what is going on’.
When the hearing takes place next year in February 2027, members of the Stoli Group ‘will have to explain exactly how the deal was planned’ and Shefler is likely to take the stand as well.
Jolie sold her shares in the winery to the group’s wine division called Tenute del Mondo.
The Daily Mail reported earlier this week that the California Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that allowed Shefler to recuse himself from the case, claiming he had little stake in the $64 million deal that made him Pitt’s reluctant business partner.
‘Angelina knew that Brad did not want to sell his interest in Miraval to Schefler and agreed with Brad that she would have the right of first refusal. “Selling to Shefler without Brad knowing was very bad behavior,” an insider told the Daily Mail.
‘This was revenge after a custody dispute. And now Shefler will have to explain what really happened behind the scenes and how the deal was planned.’
The Maleficent actress instead ‘looks forward to winning the case at next year’s trial so her family can finally focus their energies on healing and moving on’; Seen in Spain in 2025
But a person close to the Hollywood actor said their legal victory in the ongoing case was ‘another step towards transparency about what is going on’; vineyard seen above
‘This was revenge after a custody dispute. And now Shefler will have to explain what really happened behind the scenes and how the deal was planned,” an insider told the Daily Mail; Seen in Mexico City in 2025
The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel on Wednesday found Shefler had ‘intentionally taken advantage’ of California’s jurisdiction.
“It defies credulity that Shefler, a savvy businessman, would risk almost $40 million for a transaction he knew nothing about and had no involvement in,” the court wrote.
Shefler, the billionaire behind Cyprus-registered SPI Group and its Dutch subsidiary Tenute del Mondo, argued that he was a Swiss citizen and played no role in the six-month negotiation in which Jolie quietly sold a 50 percent stake to his own company in September 2021.
The lower court had sided with Shefler, concluding that California could not exercise jurisdiction over Shefler because negotiations regarding a French nexus were being conducted between European representatives in Europe.
But the appeals court refuted that claim, finding that Shefler personally guaranteed $39 million of his own funds to secure Jolie’s installment payments.
He even sent her direct letters thanking her for ‘accepting my offer’ and instructing her lieutenants throughout the deal.
His own staff referred to him as ‘The Founder’ and ‘Mr.’ S’ in internal emails as he tried to manage Pitt’s angry reaction to the acquisition.
Shefler even thanked Jolie in a letter for her ‘trust in me and my company’. I assure you Miraval is safe with me.’
However, the appeals court refuted this claim, finding that Shefler personally guaranteed $39 million of his own funds to secure Jolie’s installment payments; Seen in Rome in 2025
“I would also like to thank you for your willingness to help resolve any potential issues with the company’s remaining shareholders,” he added.
‘Obviously this is a unique process and in some ways it’s not as simple as we’d all like it to be.’
In another internal email sent while Jolie was allegedly still stalling on signing an exclusivity agreement, an aide told her Luxembourg-based lawyer that “Mr. Shefler is considering this recommendation as to whether to withdraw.”
Pitt first sued Jolie in February 2022, claiming that Jolie secretly sold half of his beloved Provençal estate, where the former couple married in 2014, without his consent.
He claimed that he and Jolie had an implied agreement that he would not sell his shares to a third party without the other’s approval; Jolie’s side denied that such an agreement existed.
In his lawsuit, Pitt alleged that Shefler “secretly planned the purchase to facilitate the violation of Pitt’s rights and to prevent him from protecting or exercising his rights.”
Hoping to smooth things over, Shefler reached out to Pitt directly by letter in October 2021, expressing the hope that Pitt would acknowledge that he “had a new partner.” Pitt refused.
Shefler had purchased a California company called Nouvel LLC, in which Jolie held Miraval shares, from a California resident.
The purchase agreement and its predecessor exclusivity agreement were both governed by California law and California forum selection provisions.
Pitt first sued Jolie in February 2022, claiming she secretly sold half of his beloved Provençal estate, where the former couple married in 2014, without his consent; Seen in Hollywood in 2015
In the Pitt case, Shefler “secretly planned the purchase to facilitate the violation of Pitt’s rights and to prevent him from protecting or exercising his rights”; Pitt was spotted in Inglewood on Thursday
Her $39 million bank guarantee was sent to Jolie, who is in the care of Los Angeles-based business manager Terry Bird.
The court held that ‘It was Shefler’s contacts with California when purchasing a California company from a California resident that caused the injury to another California resident, and it was the California company that was the subject of the lawsuit.’
The two movie stars have been locked in a bitter fight over the vineyard and winery ever since; Jolie had a cross-complaint in which she accused Pitt of waging a ‘vindictive war’ against her that devalued Miraval and prevented her from participating in the management of her company.
The decision paves the way for Shefler to be tried along with other defendants, creating a showdown between both Jolie and Pitt in court.
The case, which currently includes a combined property valuation of approximately $164 million, is scheduled for trial on February 1, 2027, with an October 28 scheduled date for mediation; Jolie was spotted in New York earlier this month
The case, which currently includes a combined property valuation of approximately $164 million, is scheduled to be heard on February 1, 2027, with mediation set for October 28.
Pitt and Jolie were previously married from 2014 until they split two years later. Divorce became legal in 2019.
And in late 2024, it was revealed that the former couple had reached a divorce settlement after a long eight-year struggle. But the legal dispute over French wineries continues.
The two stars have three biological children in common: Shiloh, 20, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17. The couple also shares children Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, and Zahara, 21.
