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A state appeals court has ruled that Brad Pitt can sue a Russian billionaire who bought a 50% stake in a French winery from Angelina Jolie in the wake of their messy divorce.
The couple bought the 1,200-acre winery in southern France where they married, Château Miraval, in 2008. Jolie planned to sell half of it to Pitt until negotiations broke down over his insistence that she sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from publishing the abuse allegations that led to their split. This includes a 2016 altercation on a private plane in which Pitt allegedly “grabbed her by the head and shook her,” “choked one of the children” and “hit another child in the face.”
Jolie refused this condition and concluded a $64 million deal with billionaire alcohol magnate Yuri Shefler. In 2022, Pitt filed a lawsuit, claiming that the actress reneged on an unwritten agreement not to sell their shares in the company without the other’s consent. Schaeffler’s involvement in the case relates to allegations that he secretly orchestrated the acquisition alongside Jolie to facilitate the violation of Pitt’s rights.
A California state court judge initially found that Schaeffler was not sufficiently involved in the deal, meaning he could not be forced into the case because he was merely a passive investor.
The state Court of Appeals overturned that decision, finding that Schaeffler played a vital role in structuring and completing the Miraval purchase. She noted that he guaranteed $39 million of the purchase using his own funds, a condition he would not agree to if he were not involved in the agreement. Wednesday’s order said there was “strong evidence that Schaeffler had final decision-making authority over whether negotiations would continue and on what terms.”
Schaeffler sent Jolie three letters during the course of the deal. One of them thanked her for accepting his offer and assured her that the deal would be concluded “despite the personal complications.” Another asked Jolie to postpone payment of an installment of the purchase due to complications with Pitt.
“These letters are not insignificant, as they demonstrate Schaeffler’s ongoing communications with a California resident and his direct involvement in ensuring the completion of the deal, including soliciting Jolie’s participation in handling Schaeffler’s dispute with Pitt (over the purchase of Nouvel), and his negotiation of payment terms under the agreement,” Judge Gil Foer wrote in the ruling.
This long-running case has revealed the origins of Pitt and Jolie’s divorce and the animosity between the former spouses. In a countersuit filed after he sued her over the winery, Jolie for the first time detailed his abuse of her and their children. She spoke about a violent quarrel that occurred in 2016 on a private plane, and five days later she filed for divorce.
Pitt denied these accusations. In a statement at the time, a representative for the actress said that Jolie “continues to reframe, revise and reimagine her description of an event that happened 6 years ago by adding completely incorrect information every time she fails to get what she wants.”
