Brad Pitt has achieved a significant legal win in his ongoing dispute with ex-wife Angelina Jolie over the ownership of Chateau Miraval, a French winery. A Michigan judge has ordered a key figure associated with the case to return for another deposition, marking the latest development in the high-profile legal battle.
Judge Rules Against Stoli in Deposition Dispute
On May 20, a Michigan judge ruled that attorneys representing the Stoli group improperly blocked testimony from General Counsel Todd Culyba during a crucial deposition related to the sale of Jolie's stake in the winery business, according to a report by Page Six. The ruling stems from a December deposition in which Culyba was allegedly instructed not to answer 33 questions. These unanswered questions reportedly involved the role of Stoli's ultimate beneficial owner, Yuri Shefler, in the purchase of Jolie's stake in the company.
The judge determined that attorney-client privilege did not apply to the business aspects of the questions and that the 33 queries could have been answered during the initial deposition. As a result, Culyba has been ordered to appear for another deposition and must respond not only to the previously blocked questions but also to any related follow-up inquiries.
Recent Legal Wins for Both Parties
This ruling comes just weeks after Jolie secured her own legal victory when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected Pitt's attempt to compel her to hand over a set of private emails tied to the winery dispute. The court ruled that Pitt had failed to meet the legal threshold required to override attorney-client privilege protections. However, Pitt had previously achieved a discovery-related victory in December 2025, when a judge ordered Jolie to provide certain unredacted non-attorney communications connected to the case.
The former Hollywood power couple finalized their divorce in December 2024 after an eight-year legal battle that began with their 2016 separation. Pitt and Jolie share six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne. The children have recently made headlines for their decision to legally drop 'Pitt' from their surname.
The ongoing legal saga continues to unfold, with both sides securing partial victories as the dispute over Chateau Miraval remains unresolved.
