Angelina Jolie scores 'important' victory over ex Brad Pitt in their ugly court battle over $184m winery

Angelina Jolie on Monday racked up what was described as 'an important victory' in her yearslong legal battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt over their French winery Château Miraval. 

Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Cindy Pánuco ruled that the 50-year-old Maleficent star should not have to surrender to Pitt and his team 22 emails discussing the case, which a judge ordered her to do on December 17, 2025.

The appellate court upended that decision, citing that since legal gameplans were mentioned in the batch of emails, they should be off-limits to Pitt's camp,  according to legal docs reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Jolie's lawyer Paul Murphy told the Daily Mail in a statement Tuesday that the latest ruling marked 'an important victory' for the Oscar-winning actress.

'The decision shows that Mr. Pitt was completely out of bounds when he sought access to obviously privileged documents,' Murphy said. 'He initially demanded 126 privileged documents, but then backtracked to 22, and now Mr. Pitt is getting nothing, zero.'

Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Jolie and Pitt for further comment on the story. 

Murphy said the legal requests were indicative of 'Pitt’s pattern of demanding control over anything Angelina including control over her communications with her own attorneys.'

Jolie's attorney concluded, 'We are extremely gratified that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court ultimately put a stop to it.'

A Pitt source told TMZ Tuesday that all Jolie's team garnered was 'a potential temporary decision that allows them to keep information about her real intentions out of court.' 

The Fight Club star, 62, did garner a favorable outcome in the latest ruling from the court, as the judge denied Jolie's request to the court to sanction $34,000 to Pitt's lawyers for using a motion to try and obtain the emails, saying 'sanctions are not warranted.'

The latest in the case comes weeks after Jolie filed court docs indicating she felt a trial start date in September 2027 works well, despite Pitt's push to have it five months earlier in April of 2027. 

'It's sort of sad that the strategy is just a delay instead of addressing or resolving things but that's par for the course,' a source close to Pitt told the Daily Mail of Jolie's latest tack in the legal proceedings. 

The Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood star said in a recent filing that the legal back and forth has deprived him of years of 'the quiet enjoyment of his home in France,' which is valued at $164 million.

The Academy Award-winning actor said that time is of the essence, as key witnesses in the case are aging, with one having passed away.

Pitt, in court filings reviewed by TMZ, also pointed to the ages of Jolie's attorneys, saying that one had passed the bar more than 50 years ago, in 1972.

Jolie told the court that the five-month delay will have a negligible impact on the case.

Pitt has not brought any evidence before the court to show how the case has impacted him enjoying his visits to the estate, Jolie said in court docs.

Jolie in her filing responded to Pitt's concerns that a fall trial would be interrupted by the Jewish High Holidays.

The Lara Croft: Tomb Raider star said that Pitt did not provide names of members of his legal team that would be sidelined by the religious observances.

In previous filings, the A-listers, who initially linked up filming 2005's Mr. & Mrs. Smith, had wanted different dates for the trial to commence.

A February 1, 2027 had been set by the court, according to legal docs TMZ reviewed, leading Pitt to concede two months. Pitt said in the filing that he was hoping to begin sooner so all involved can 'move on with their lives.'

Jolie had requested the case be brought before the court in November of 2027, according to filings reviewed by the outlet.

Pitt initially filed the lawsuit against Jolie in early 2022, telling the court she had sold her share of the estate to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler.

Jolie told the court that she did not require permission from Pitt to complete her sale of the Correns, France winery to Shefler.

Jolie and the Moneyball actor are parents to six children: Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 19, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 17. 

They split up in 2016 following a 12-year relationship and two-year marriage, with their divorce finalized eight years later in December 2024 amid a number of legal battles.