A court battle has erupted between former Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, with new documents claiming that Pitt looted the assets of the winery he co-owned with Jolie.
The files, got by CNN and the Financial Times, accuse Pitt of “looting” Chateau Miraval’s assets in order to maintain control of the property.
The filing was made by Jolie’s former investment firm Nouvelle, which used to hold her stake in the winery, according to the Financial Times.
Nouvelle is suing for $350 million in damages, claiming that Pitt “masterminded a so-far-successful plan to seize de facto control of Chateau Miraval” after their divorce.
The documents assert, “Pitt wasted the company’s assets, spending millions on vanity projects, including more than $1 million on swimming pool renovations, building and rebuilding a staircase four times, and spending millions to restore a recording studio.”
Lawyers for Nouvelle said that Jolie’s alleged “misconduct” worsened after she sold her stake in the investment firm in October 2021.
The filings suggest that Pitt, “Incensed that Jolie sold Nouvel to Stoli rather than him, Pitt has acted like a petulant child, refusing to treat Nouvel as an equal partner in the business.”
In recent years, their court disputes have centred on property ownership and control.
Pitt filed a lawsuit in February 2022, claiming that Jolie’s sale of the winery was illegitimate, stating that they had agreed not to sell the property without mutual consent.
Pitt’s assertion was denied by the ‘Original Sin’ actress, who stated that no such arrangement had been signed. She claimed that she sold her share in the vineyard in order to achieve “financial independence” from the ‘Bullet Train’ actor and to find closure to herself and their children after a deeply painful and traumatic chapter in their lives.