Angelina Jolie Wins Court Fight to Keep Private Emails From Brad Pitt in Château Miraval Battle

Angelina Jolie has won a court fight to keep private communications from Brad Pitt in their years-long legal battle over Château Miraval, the French winery they once owned together.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ciny Pánuco denied Pitt’s attempt to force Jolie to turn over 22 communications related to the dispute, ruling on May 5, 2026, that he had not shown why the documents should lose the attorney-client privilegeattorney-client privilegeAttorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between a lawyer and a client when they are made for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice. The privilege generally allows the client to prevent those communications from being disclosed in court or during litigation.Read more → Jolie asserted over them.

Pitt had initially sought 126 communications before narrowing the request to 22. His lawyers argued that some messages involving Jolie’s business manager, publicists and financial advisers were business communications rather than protected exchanges with attorneys.

Jolie maintained that the communications were part of her legal strategy and therefore privileged. The judge agreed that Pitt had not met his burden on the existing record.

The ruling was made without prejudice, meaning Pitt can raise the issue again if additional evidence develops. Pánuco also rejected Jolie’s request for nearly $34,000 in sanctions against Pitt, finding that his position was substantially justified even though his motion failed.

The discovery fight is one piece of a much larger lawsuit over Jolie’s 2021 sale of her interest in Château Miraval to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group.

Pitt sued Jolie in Los Angeles in February 2022, alleging they had agreed that neither would sell an interest in Miraval without the other’s consent. He claims Jolie violated that understanding when she sold the company holding her 50 percent stake to Tenute.

Jolie denies that a binding agreement prevented the sale.

The former couple acquired the estate in Correns, France, in 2008 through separate investment companies. Pitt’s Mondo Bongo LLC initially held a 60 percent interest in the Luxembourg company that controlled Miraval, while Jolie’s Nouvel LLC held 40 percent. Their interests were later equalized at 50 percent each.

The property became both a family home and a business. Pitt and Jolie married at Miraval in 2014, and its rosé operation developed into an internationally recognized wine brand.

Their relationship ended in 2016, and negotiations over Miraval continued for years after Jolie filed for divorce. The two were close to reaching a deal over the winery before negotiations broke down in 2021 and Jolie sold Nouvel to Tenute.

Pitt alleges the transaction deprived him of rights he had under their agreement and has sought damages for alleged harm to Miraval’s business. Court filings submitted in 2025 showed Jolie’s lawyers describing Pitt’s damages claim as totaling $35 million.

Jolie’s side has argued that no enforceable agreement required Pitt’s approval and has accused him of using the litigation to exert control over her after their separation. Her lawyers have also tied the failed negotiations over her Miraval stake to a proposed nondisclosure agreement and her allegations concerning Pitt’s conduct during their marriage. Pitt has disputed allegations of abuse.

The May ruling over Jolie’s private communications did not decide who ultimately owns what rights in Miraval or whether Jolie breached an agreement by selling her stake. It determined only what evidence Pitt could obtain at that stage of the case.

The broader litigation has continued to produce rulings for both sides.

In June 2026, Pitt won permission to take depositions from representatives connected to Stoli and Tenute who were involved in Jolie’s sale. His lawyers argue those witnesses have firsthand knowledge of how the transaction was negotiated.

On June 24, a California appeals court also revived Pitt’s claims against Stoli Group owner Yuri Shefler after a lower court had dismissed him from the case for lack of personal jurisdiction.

The appellate court found that Shefler had played a significant role in the transaction, including helping structure the purchase, guaranteeing $39 million of the price paid to Jolie and communicating with Jolie and her California business manager. Those contacts were enough to allow Pitt’s claims against him to proceed in California.

The ruling underscored how far the Miraval dispute has expanded beyond the former couple themselves, drawing in their companies, the buyers of Jolie’s stake and executives involved in the transaction.

Pitt and Jolie finalized their divorce in December 2024, more than eight years after their separation. Their fight over Château Miraval remains unresolved and is moving toward trial.