Brad Pitt scores major legal victory in winery dispute with Angelina Jolie

Brad Pitt scores major legal victory in winery dispute with Angelina Jolie, with a California court order strengthening his position in the Miraval ownership conflict. The Superior Court of California granted a motion from Pitt’s legal team compelling depositions from members of the Stoli Group, according to PEOPLE. Pitt’s argument was that spirits and wine investors connected to the deal had firsthand knowledge of Jolie’s 2021 sale of the French winery, Chateau Miraval, which Pitt co-owned, to Tenute del Monto, the wine arm of the Stoli Group. The court action, taken recently, allows Pitt to question key people linked to the transaction as the case proceeds. The filing names billionaire Yuri Shefler as leading the Stoli Group. Pitt previously sued in 2023 seeking compensation over Jolie’s decision to sell his share to the Russian-affiliated spirits conglomerate, citing reputational risks tied to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and an alleged homophobic legislative agenda. Jolie denied the claims, with her team criticizing the characterization of Shefler. New June documents require depositions of Oliynik and “persons most qualified” from Stoli’s wine divisions, Tenute del Mondo BV and Nouvel LLC, to occur in London by September 30.