Angelina Jolie is facing new legal challenges in her ongoing dispute with Brad Pitt over their lavish Chateau Miraval estate.
The 48-year-old actress has been instructed by a judge in LA Superior Court to produce every Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) she signed with third parties from 2014—when she married Brad—through to 2022.
The judge’s decision, outlined in recently released documents, represents a significant development in what has been dubbed a ‘War of the Roses’ between the Hollywood stars.
Their disagreement revolves around Angelina’s authority to sell her share in their French vineyard and residence, which she sold for $62 million to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021.
Brad contends that this sale violated their agreement, which stipulated that they must offer their stake to each other before selling to outsiders. The use of NDAs has become a critical issue.
Angelina claims she backed out of their agreement because Brad, aged 60, demanded that she sign an NDA as part of their business dealings. She characterizes this request as an ‘unconscionable’ effort to control her following their separation in April 2019.
However, Brad’s legal team argues that Angelina’s objection to the NDA is merely a pretext for her decision to sell her stake without informing Brad.
They point out that Angelina herself frequently used NDAs and even asked Brad to sign a broader NDA six months after their split during their divorce settlement discussions. They previously requested that Angelina disclose any NDAs she entered into with third parties, including staff.
Judge Lia Martin dismissed Angelina’s objections, ruling that her NDAs are relevant to the case. The court ordered Angelina to produce all NDAs she proposed or that were proposed to her, regardless of whether they were finalized.
This includes NDAs entered into by companies she controls and documents reflecting the reasons behind these agreements, which must be provided within 60 days.
Paul Murphy, one of Angelina’s attorneys, stated that the judge’s order permits Angelina to request documents related to Brad’s alleged misconduct.
“Common NDAs are simply not comparable to Brad’s last-second demand to try and cover up his personal misconduct,” Paul stated to Daily Mail.
“We are more than happy to turn them over and we are gratified that the Court acknowledged that the only potential relevance is to the unconscionability of Brad’s conduct, a now confirmed key issue in this case.”
He added, “The judge’s ruling completely opens the door to discovery on all issues related to Brad’s abuse. We welcome that transparency in all parties’ discovery responses, including Brad’s.”
