Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie drop bombshell on how long their bitter vineyard war could last in court
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie 's bitter vineyard battle is officially headed to trial next year — and both sides are bracing for a lengthy fight.
The warring exes will soon come face to face in court after a judge tossed Jolie's attempt to dismiss Pitt's lawsuit over Château Miraval, the sprawling French estate where they tied the knot in 2014.
The property, known for its award-winning rosé, has become ground zero in the stars' years-long legal war.
Jolie, 49, tried to shut down Pitt's claims that she sold her stake in the estate behind his back — despite what he says was a verbal agreement to hold onto their 50-50 split.
But now that her motion's been denied, the case is moving full speed ahead.
Pitt expects the jury trial to last about 15 days, while Jolie believes it will take over two weeks, according to court documents obtained by UsWeekly.
The trial date hasn't been locked in yet, and several key motions are still on the table.
Pitt called the case 'complex,' citing international parties and multiple cross-claims involved in the tangled dispute, per the court documents.
DailyMail.com has not received a response to its request for comment from reps for both Pitt and Jolie.
A source close to the actor told DailyMail.com: 'This is a straightforward business dispute, but unfortunately, the other side has consistently introduced personal elements which have exposed the weaknesses in their case and complicated and lengthened the proceedings.'
The Maleficent star will have 30 days to appeal the judge's decision in filings at Los Angeles Superior Court last week.
Pitt filed the $67million lawsuit against Jolie in 2022, less than a year after the shares were sold, setting off a protracted court battle between the exes.
But Judge Martin's decision to dismiss Jolie's final three claims against Pitt has put him firmly back in the driving seat ahead of a trial next year.
This latest court ruling represents another pre-trial victory for Pitt, adding to his momentum in the ongoing legal battle.
Jolie faces potential damages claims if she does not undo the deal she made with Yuri Shefler regarding the sale of her Miraval stake.
With her frustration over Pitt being awarded joint custody of their children in 2021, the dispute appears to have turned highly personal for the pair, going beyond the original business matter.
Jolie has also been accused of trying to drive a wedge between her estranged husband and their six kids in the aftermath of their split.
Pitt's team claims she believes her deal with Shefler was 'justified' due to the NDA her ex-husband asked her to sign.
She was dealt another blow earlier this year after the court ruled she must produce every NDA that she signed with a third-party over an eight-year period from 2014 - the year they married - to 2022.
NDAs have become a key battleground in the dispute over Chateau Miraval after Jolie claims she backed out of their agreement because Pitt asked her to sign one as part of their business deal.
She claims that it was an 'unconscionable' attempt by her ex-partner to 'control her' after their split in April 2019, with his lawyers asking LA Superior Court to unwind the sale because of their agreement to not sell to a third party.
But Pitts attorneys have argued that Jolie's NDA objection was really just a cover story which she cooked-up to 'rationalize' her betrayal of Pitt by deciding to sell her stake behind his back.
The Fight Club star's attorneys also claim that Jolie herself 'weaponized' NDAs, and asked for Pitt to sign a broader NDA just six months later as part of their divorce settlement talks.
Pitt's legal team asked in previous filings that she come clean about NDAs she entered into with third parties including staff.
At the time Paul Murphy, one of Jolie's attorneys, told DailyMail.com that the judge's order also opens the window for the actress to demand documents related to Pitt's alleged abuses.
'We are more than happy to turn them over and we are gratified that the Court acknowledged that the only potential relevance is to the unconscionability of Mr. Pitt's conduct, a now confirmed key issue in this case,' he said.
He continued: 'The judge's ruling completely opens the door to discovery on all issues related to Pitt's abuse. We welcome that transparency in all parties' discovery responses, including Mr. Pitt's.
A source close to Brad, however, said Jolie's decision to use the NDA as a strategy 'has backfired spectacularly.'
'Her defense has been exposed as a house of cards, and she will now have to provide details of all the NDAs she demanded of third parties.
'There is no question that this is a huge setback for her. There's a long way to go, but in the context of the case so far, this is a hugely important and far-reaching ruling which will be problematic for her defense,' the source added.
Pitt has landed several legal victories in the battle for the winery including a key judgement in Luxembourg which handed him back control of the award-winning vineyard pending further hearings.
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