Brad Pitt has secured a fresh legal victory in his long-running Château Miraval dispute with ex-wife Angelina Jolie, as a Michigan judge ruled that lawyers representing the Stoli Group improperly blocked testimony during a crucial deposition tied to the case.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, the ruling was issued on Thursday, May 28, and found that former Stoli General Counsel Todd Culyba had been wrongly instructed not to answer 33 questions during a December deposition. Those questions centered on Jolie’s 2021 sale of her stake in the French winery to Stoli’s wine division.
What the Ruling Covers
The blocked questions reportedly included inquiries about the role of Yuri Shelfer, Stoli’s ultimate beneficial owner, in facilitating Jolie’s sale of her indirect interest in Miraval. The judge determined that attorney-client privilege did not shield the “business aspects” of the transaction, meaning those details were fair game for questioning.
As a result of the ruling, Culyba has been ordered to sit for another deposition and answer the previously blocked questions, along with any related follow-up questions, despite objections from Stoli’s legal team. A source close to the situation downplayed the significance of the decision, telling Page Six that the ruling “is not a big deal, and it’s not going to impact the case whatsoever.”
Background of the Château Miraval Dispute
The estate at the center of the battle, Château Miraval, is a sprawling vineyard property in Le Val, in southeastern France, that Pitt and Jolie purchased together during their marriage. The couple has been embroiled in litigation over the winery since 2022.
Pitt first filed suit in 2022, alleging that Jolie had sold her share of Miraval to Tenute del Mondo, Stoli Group’s wine division, in violation of a prior agreement stating neither party would sell their stake without the other’s approval. Jolie has denied that such an agreement existed and filed a countersuit, accusing Pitt of waging what she described as a “vindictive war” against her through ongoing litigation.
A Seesaw Legal Battle
The latest ruling adds another chapter to a legal fight that has swung back and forth between both sides. Just weeks earlier, Jolie scored her own win when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied Pitt’s attempt to compel her to hand over private emails related to the winery dispute, ruling that Pitt had not met the burden required to overcome her attorney-client privilege claims. That motion was denied without prejudice, leaving Pitt the option to raise the issue again later.
Aerial view of Chateau Miraval, a vineyard estate in Le Val, southeastern France.
At the time, a source told Page Six it was notable how many documents Jolie had withheld on privilege grounds, arguing that the emails represented important evidence in the case. However, Pitt had previously notched his own discovery win in December 2025, when a judge ordered Jolie to turn over certain unredacted, non-attorney communications connected to the winery fight.
Life Beyond the Courtroom
The Château Miraval case continues to unfold even though Pitt, 62, and Jolie, 50, finalized their divorce in December 2024, closing out more than eight years of legal proceedings that began after their 2016 separation. The former couple share six children together: Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 21, Shiloh, 19, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 17.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt sit side-by-side at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Conclusion
Brad Pitt’s latest courtroom win over blocked deposition testimony represents another twist in one of Hollywood’s most closely watched legal sagas. While the Château Miraval case has produced wins for both sides in recent months — from discovery disputes to privilege claims — the underlying conflict over ownership of the French winery remains far from resolved. As both parties continue to build their respective cases, the dispute over Château Miraval shows no signs of slowing down, and fans following the story can expect further developments as the litigation moves closer to trial.