Brad Pitt Scores Two Legal Wins Against Angelina Jolie as Winery Buyers Are Ordered to Testify
Brad Pitt has secured two significant legal wins this week in his years-long battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie over Château Miraval, the French winery the former couple co-owned, as courts have now ordered key figures connected to the disputed 2021 sale to submit to depositions.
What the Courts Decided
In a June 17 court document, the Superior Court of California granted a motion from Pitt's legal team compelling depositions from members of the Stoli Group — the spirits conglomerate whose wine division, Tenute del Mondo, purchased Jolie's stake in the winery. The depositions of Stoli executive Alexey Oliynik and representatives from Tenute del Mondo B.V. and Nouvel LLC — the company through which Jolie completed the sale — must now occur in London by Sept. 30, according to documents filed in June.
Oliynik had previously resisted a June 2025 deposition order, arguing that as a Swiss resident he could not be compelled to produce documents or appear for questioning.
Then on June 24, California's Court of Appeals reversed an earlier decision regarding Stoli Group owner Yuri Shefler's direct involvement in the sale. Despite Shefler's claim that he played only a minimal role in the transaction, the court found the argument unpersuasive, writing that it "defies credulity that Shefler, a sophisticated businessman, would risk almost $40 million on a transaction about which he knew nothing and with which he had no involvement." A hearing on Pitt's motion to compel Shefler's own deposition is scheduled for July 8.
The Background
Pitt, 62, filed suit in February 2022, alleging Jolie, 50, sold her share of Château Miraval in October 2021 without his consent, in violation of an agreement he says the two had that neither would transfer their stake without the other's approval. Jolie responded with a countersuit in September 2022, alleging Pitt had been "waging a vindictive war against" her since she filed for divorce in 2016 following two years of marriage. The former couple finalized their divorce settlement in December 2024, but the Château Miraval dispute remains unresolved and is now headed toward a trial currently set for Feb. 1, 2027. Jolie has requested the trial be pushed to November 2027; Pitt has opposed that delay.
Pitt's legal team has characterized Shefler as an unsuitable business partner in part because the Stoli Group has faced boycotts in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Jolie's side has pushed back on that framing, calling it a "xenophobic, untrue smear campaign" and describing Shefler as a Russian exile who has long been a critic of Vladimir Putin.
What Both Sides Are Saying
A source close to Pitt told People the ruling was "another step towards transparency over what took place," adding that Jolie had agreed Pitt "would have first right of refusal" over any sale, then sold to Shefler regardless. Another Pitt-aligned source told the outlet that Shefler "was a partner [Jolie] chose knowing it was a partner Brad did not want involved in the business."
A source close to Jolie countered that she sold to the Stoli Group because she believed it would be an effective worldwide distribution partner capable of growing the business for the benefit of their six children, who stood to inherit stakes in the winery. "Brad refused to work with Stoli simply because Angie chose them, not him," the source said. A lawyer for Jolie told People that the recent rulings have "no impact on the merits of the case" and that Jolie is focused on defeating the lawsuit at trial so the family can move on.
The case is expected to enter a more intensive discovery phase in the months ahead, with Shefler's potential deposition and the London testimony from Stoli executives likely to shape how both sides build their arguments before trial.
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