A Los Angeles judge has ordered Angelina Jolie to provide all nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) from the past eight years in her ongoing lawsuit with Brad Pitt over their French vineyard.
Jolie must produce all NDAs she has signed in the last eight years for the civil lawsuit between her and Pitt concerning their Château, fine wine, and vineyard in France.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge mandated Jolie to produce “all non-privileged documents in her possession, custody, or control that are responsive to” Pitt’s legal team’s request. This includes any NDAs that the Jolie has entered into. The judge has given Jolie a month to comply with the order.
Pitt’s team claims that Jolie has no reason not to reveal these agreements.
A source from Pitt’s camp described the ruling as a “crushing blow” to Jolie, who had previously argued that fulfilling such a request would be “expensive,” “wasteful,” “unreasonable,” and “abusive.” Jolie’s lawyers indicated that unveiling the NDAs infringes on the privacy of other individuals involved.
These records most likely consist of relevant contracts with various Hollywood entities, such as employers, brands, and employees. The contracts possibly include “agreements that detail Jolie’s compensation or compensation she paid to third parties.”
Now, Jolie’s team is expected to provide a list of documents they consider privileged, allowing Pitt’s attorneys to “evaluate the merits of Jolie’s assertions of privilege.”
Earlier this year, Pitt’s lawyers requested information on the number of NDAs Jolie had staff members sign. This followed Jolie’s accusations that Pitt was attempting to exert control over her through an “overreaching” agreement.
Jolie’s filings claim that Pitt demanded she sign a particularly “onerous” and “expansive” NDA, which would cover his “personal misconduct,” irrespective of its relation to Miraval, as a condition for her to sell her share of the winery to him.
The deal for Jolie to sell her half of Château Miraval to Pitt ultimately collapsed. Jolie alleges in legal documents that the breakdown was due to the unfair terms of the NDA, leading her to sell her shares to a subsidiary of the Stoli Group.
After the LA court’s ruling, Jolie’s attorney, Paul Murphy, framed it as a victory for their side. Murphy stated, “Common NDAs are simply not comparable to Mr. Pitt’s last-second demand to try and cover up his personal misconduct. 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.”
“We welcome that transparency in all parties’ discovery responses, including Mr. Pitt’s. Angelina looks forward to the eventual end of this litigation with its false narratives that continue to hurt the family and interfere with their ability to heal.”
