Pitt Sues Jolie: She Sold Stake in My Home to a 'Stranger'

The "never-ending divorce war" between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie continues with the former now suing the latter, per TMZ. In a complaint filed Thursday in Los Angeles, Pitt claims Jolie secretly sold her half of the former pair's controlling interest in their French winery Château Miraval to a subsidiary of vodka company Stoli Group controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler, "an aggressive third-party competitor." Pitt claims the pair had an agreement that they couldn't sell their stake in the winery without the other's consent. But Pitt alleges Jolie did just that, knowing "Shefler and his affiliates would seek to control the business to which Pitt had devoted himself."

Jolie told a court last August that she'd reached an agreement to sell her interest to another party after an attempt to negotiate a working arrangement or "complete buyout" with Pitt failed, in part over their inability to align on "price and non-compete/non-disparagement arrangements," per Rolling Stone. Pitt says he allowed Jolie to pursue the sale in September but retained his right to approve or reject it based on the purchaser. A month later, he says he discovered Jolie had sold her stake to Stoli Group subsidiary Tenute del Mondo while intentionally concealing the details from him. "Jolie's breach, if allowed to stand, will deprive Pitt of his right to enjoy his private home—without sharing ownership with a stranger—and to secure his position in the business he built from scratch," the lawsuit states.

"Through the purported sale, Jolie seeks to seize profits she has not earned and returns on an investment she did not make," it adds. Though Jolie put down 40% of the $28.4 million purchase price for Chateau Miraval in 2008, the suit claims "Jolie long ago stopped contributing to Miraval," which "under Pitt's stewardship, has grown into a multimillion dollar international success story and one of the world's most highly regarded producers of rosé wine." Pitt says Shefler's agents have already "sought to seize operational control of the wine business" and "demanded that Château Miraval's bank freeze its assets." Pitt is asking a judge to undo the deal, which threatens his "passion." He is also seeking damages. (More Brad Pitt stories.)