06 May,2026 10:07 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (Pic/AFP)
Angelina Jolie has secured a significant legal win in her ongoing dispute with Brad Pitt over their French winery. A Los Angeles court ruled that Pitt cannot access her private emails related to the sale of her stake, marking a key development in the long-running Château Miraval battle.
According to Page Six, on Monday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that Brad, 62, cannot compel Angelina, 50, to hand over a series of private emails related to the sale of her stake in the French winery.
The judge did note, however, that "further discovery may yield additional facts" that "could potentially rebut" Jolie's claims - but added that Pitt "has not done so on the present record."
"This is an important victory for Ms. Jolie," her attorney, Paul Murphy, said in a statement to PEOPLE, calling Pitt "completely out of bounds when he sought access to obviously privileged documents." The statement adds that "this is part of Mr. Pitt's pattern of demanding control over anything Angelina, including control over her communications with her own attorneys. We are extremely gratified that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court ultimately put a stop to it."
The ruling specifically concerns 22 emails sought by Pitt's legal team. The court held that the communications are protected under legal privilege, noting that while not all were strictly between attorney and client, they contained elements of legal strategy and are therefore exempt from disclosure.
This development follows a prior ruling in December 2025, when a judge had directed Jolie to hand over the emails. That decision was later found to be flawed, prompting a higher court to send the matter back for reconsideration.
Amid this, the actress has put up her Los Angeles abode for sale. The Oscar-winning actress has officially listed her California compound, formerly owned by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, for 29.85 million USD.
The legal battle over the Château Miraval winery began in 2022, when Pitt filed a lawsuit over Jolie's sale of her share in Miraval to Tenute del Mondo, despite an alleged prior agreement that neither would do so unless the other approved. Jolie denied that the agreement existed and responded by filing a countersuit, claiming the actor-producer has been "waging a vindictive war against" her.
Last month, the couple was in the news after Pitt sought to settle the dispute at the earliest, as he was being denied "quiet enjoyment." While the trial is currently slated for February 1, 2027, Jolie has sought to move the trial to November 2027.
The former couple filed for divorce in September 2016 after two years of marriage and about 11 years as a couple. Together, they share six children: Maddox, 24; Pax, 22; Zahara, 20; Shiloh, 19; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17.
