The legal battle is heating up between former lovers Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Per Yahoo, Pitt is currently suing Jolie after she sold her half of their shared wine company, Miraval, to a "stranger," a move Pitt says was a deliberate act of harm. In a court filing with the Superior Court of California, Pitt's lawyers claim that Jolie's goal was to "inflict harm on Pitt. Jolie knew and intended that [businessman Yuri] Shefler and his affiliates would try to control the business Pitt had built and undermine Pitt’s investment in Miraval.”
According to Pitt's legal team, Jolie had previously agreed that neither one would ever sell off their ownership in the company in this way. Pitt also says that Jolie's replacement, Shefler, has been essentially sabotaging the company, which is "just as Jolie envisioned" and "exactly what Shefler has done."
”Shefler has launched a hostile takeover of the wine business, destabilizing Miraval’s operations and seeking access to Miraval’s confidential and proprietary information for the benefit of his competing enterprise,” the court filing states.
Formerly married, Pitt and Jolie have since divorced before Jolie sold her portion of their wine company, Château Miraval, leading to the lawsuit. Pitt is specifically suing for breach of contract, dealing in bad faith, and interference with contractual and business relations. He is seeking a trial by jury, seeking unspecified damages to be determined in court and hopes to have Jolie's sale declared "null and void."
Pitt v Jolie Has Been Getting Compared to Depp v Heard
The timing on this news is impeccable as it comes just after the highly-publicized legal battle involving another celebrity couple. Johnny Depp had sued Amber Heard for defaming him with an op-ed describing herself as a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual violence. He had asked for $50 million in damages, and while the jury favored heavily with Depp by declaring Heard guilty on all three counts of defamation, they determined his damages to be $15 million in total. Depp was also found liable on one of three defamation counts and ordered to pay Heard $2 million. Heard's lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.
"My decision to pursue this case, knowing very well the height of the legal hurdles that I would be facing and the inevitable, worldwide spectacle into my life, was only made after considerable thought," Depp said in a statement after the verdict was read. "From the very beginning, the goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that."
Meanwhile, Heard said she was "heartbroken" about the verdict in her own statement, which read in part, "I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American - to speak freely and openly."