Judge orders – A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge partially granted Brad Pitt’s motion in the long-running legal dispute with Angelina Jolie over Château Miraval, ordering depositions from key business associates and denying Pitt’s request for sanctions.
Brad Pitt’s legal push for more testimony in the Château Miraval dispute hit a turning point in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, June 24.
Judge Cindy Pánuco partially granted Pitt’s motion. requiring depositions from key business associates tied to Angelina Jolie’s business relationships. The ruling. issued in the couple’s yearslong legal battle over the French winery they once owned. leaves one request denied and another path toward trial firmly in place.
Pitt and Jolie have been locked in court since 2022 over Château Miraval, the French property they bought together in 2008 and later sold in a transaction Pitt argues was unlawful. The couple divorced in 2019, and they married at the winery in 2014.
Pitt first filed suit in February 2022. His complaint argues that Jolie’s sale of the property to an investment firm violated an agreement they made when purchasing the château together—specifically, that they decided not to sell unless they mutually agreed.
In Wednesday’s order. depositions were ordered for spirits businessman Alexey Oliynik. as well as representatives from Tenute Del Mondo and Nouvel. Oliynik serves on the board of directors for Stoli Group. an alcoholic beverages conglomerate that became an equal shareholder in Château Miraval in 2021.
Tenute Del Mondo is described on Stoli Group’s official website as a wine-centric division of the company. Nouvel is Jolie’s former investment firm, and it holds what once was Jolie’s 50% stake in the winery.
The companies now must provide Pitt’s legal team with the dates when Oliynik will be available to provide testimony no later than Aug. 7. The same deadline applies to confirming the availability of Marina Troyanovskaya, head of marketing at Stoli Group.
Pitt’s request for possible sanctions—monetary fines—was denied in the ruling, according to court documents.
The decision comes after a prior wave of similar requests. Pitt first sought depositions last June, according to court records reviewed in the reporting. Earlier this week, both Tenute Del Mondo and Nouvel objected to Pitt’s request through motions of their own.
Outside the courtroom, Jolie’s camp moved quickly to frame the ruling as limited.
In a statement delivered to the press on Friday. Jolie’s attorney Paul Murphy said the judge’s decision “has no impact on the merits of the case” and “certainly has no impact on Ms. Jolie’s case.” Murphy added that Jolie is “just looking forward to defeating the case at trial next year so that their family can finally focus their energies on healing and moving on.”.
A source close to the situation. commenting on Jolie’s business dealings with Stoli Group. said Jolie “did not sell to Stoli for any reason other than she expected Stoli to be an excellent worldwide distribution partner who could help grow the business for the benefit of their children. who stood to inherit Brad’s portion.” The source also said. “The truth is that Pitt’s ego and obsession for control got in the way. ” adding that Brad “refused to work with Stoli simply because [Jolie] chose them. not him.”.
A spokesperson for Pitt declined to comment on the ruling.
On a separate front, Jolie scored her own courtroom victory earlier in the dispute. In May, Judge Pánuco determined that Jolie was not required to provide Pitt’s attorneys with access to 22 unredacted emails after previous rulings had compelled her legal team to do so.
Pitt and Jolie are expected to face trial in August 2027, according to the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s official website.
The case has dragged across multiple milestones since Pitt and Jolie met on the set of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” in 2005. Their relationship became tabloid fodder soon after Pitt’s divorce from Jennifer Aniston, and the winery dispute has now outlasted both that celebrity arc and the couple’s marriage.
For now. Wednesday’s order doesn’t settle the core argument over Château Miraval—but it tightens the timeline and expands the testimony Pitt is seeking from key figures tied to the transaction. The next dates to watch are Aug. 7, when the availability of Oliynik and Marina Troyanovskaya is expected to be confirmed.
Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Château Miraval Cindy Pánuco Los Angeles County Superior Court depositions Alexey Oliynik Stoli Group Tenute Del Mondo Nouvel Marina Troyanovskaya sanctions legal dispute