Angelina Jolie has filed a lawsuit against Brad Pitt over the sale of their French château and winery. On July 6, the 46-year-old actress filed documents in court to have the automatic temporary restraining order (ATRO) against Brad lifted.
An ATRO is a court order that prevents one spouse from selling, transferring, or borrowing against the other's property. Angelina Jolie wants the ATRO removed so she may sell Château Miraval, the French estate she shares with Brad and which includes a castle and a winery.
Angelina Jolie requests to cut ties with Brad Pitt on their joint businesses
Angelina Jolie has found a buyer for the massive estate, according to documents filed by her legal team; but Brad Pitt has refused to release the ATRO that would allow her to sell it. Angelina Jolie's attorneys submitted an emergency motion to lift the ATRO late last month, fearing the buyer might lose interest and move on.
However, a judge dismissed her claim, ruling that there was no "immediate harm or instant loss/damage to property." Her legal team is also attempting to prove that the Miraval is fully hers because she owned it before their marriage in 2014.
The "Maleficent" actress has been keen to sell her part in the exes' Miraval Chateau Winery, according to court documents obtained by Fox News. Jolie's team claims to have identified a third party interested in purchasing Nouvel, LLC, after two years; but she is unable to sign off on the sale due to Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (ATROs) that went into force immediately following the former couple's divorce procedures.
Jolie's lawyer, Joseph Mannis, has asked the court to lift the ATROs so she may seal the transaction before the buyer pulls out, according to a document seen by Fox News. Mannis claims Jolie bought Nouvel, LLC, before she married Pitt and that she is the sole member.
A hearing on the case is scheduled for September 22, but time is of the essence since the third-party buyer might back out of the deal. The request was made, according to Jolie's legal team, since Pitt's attorney, Lance Spiegel, has yet to respond on why he opposes removing the ATROs.
Meanwhile, it appears that Angelina Jolie has been trying to sell her stake in the winery for some time. Laurent Schummer, a Luxembourg-based attorney, was hired by the director to help in the sale of Nouvel, LLC to a third party. Jolie is "very eager" to close the pending sale transaction, according to Schummer in a report to the court. Jolie does not wish to jointly own separate property assets with her ex-husband or be his unwilling and disregarded business partner, the court documents stated.
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt custody battle
Per USA Today, Pitt's lawyer claims Jolie is stalling because she doesn't like Judge John Ouderkirk's previous rulings in the case, including giving Pitt interim shared custody of their children. If Ouderkirk is dismissed, his previous rulings in the case could be overturned, a new judge appointed, and the case would be slowed, even more, allowing more of the couple's six children to reach adulthood, when they will be able to make their own decisions about their father's relationship.
Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 12, are their children. Boutrous claimed that Jolie, who is a clever lady with skilled attorneys, was aware of things necessitating Ouderkirk's disclosure all along but did not protest until she started losing in his court.
Pitt and Jolie's children were given shared custody in May. Judge John Ouderkirk issued a detailed judgment at the time, finding that Jolie's evidence lacked credibility in several key areas and that the prior custody arrangement needed to be changed in the children's best interests.
Jolie, who divorced Pitt in 2016, wanted primary custody at first, but Pitt wanted shared custody. The actress supports shared custody, according to Peter Harvey, a lawyer for Jolie who is connected to the issue but not directly involved, but noted that the situation is difficult and he can't go into detail because the court proceedings are under seal.
Angelina Jolie stated in a second court document obtained by ET that same month that she will appeal Judge Ouderkirk's ruling, claiming that he denied her "a fair trial, unjustly barring her evidence related to the children's health, safety, and welfare, evidence crucial to establishing her case."
In court documents, the actress also claimed that the judge failed to fully examine a part of the California courts law that states that awarding custody to someone with a history of domestic violence is detrimental to the best interests of the child.
Jolie claimed to have evidence of alleged domestic abuse against Brad Pitt in a March court filing. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Child and Family Services cleared the actor of charges of child abuse in 2016, ET via MSN reported.
Related Article: How Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt's Custody Battle Affects Their Children
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