Angelina Jolie has emerged victorious in her legal battle against her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, over the release of her private messages. On Monday, May 5th, a judge issued an order denying a motion from Pitt's lawyers, which would have required Jolie, 50, to turn over 22 communications related to her and Pitt's winery dispute that her lawyers claim are protected by attorney-client privilege. With this ruling, the judge adopted an appellate court's decision to overturn a previous order to compel the production of the messages.
In Monday's decision, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ciny Pánuco wrote that Pitt, 62, "has not met his burden" to show that the communications are exempt from that protection, echoing the appellate court's decision. The judge did note, however, that "further discovery may yield additional facts" that "could potentially rebut" Jolie's claims — but added that Pitt "has not done so on the present record."
Pánuco also denied Jolie's request for $33,692.50 in sanctions, writing that the sanctions were "not warranted" because Pitt's position "was not without substantial justification."
"This is an important victory for Ms. Jolie," Jolie's attorney Paul Murphy said in a statement to PEOPLE, calling Pitt "completely out of bounds when he sought access to obviously privileged documents." The statement adds that "this is part of Mr. Pitt's pattern of demanding control over anything Angelina, including control over her communications with her own attorneys. We are extremely gratified that both the Court of Appeal and the trial court ultimately put a stop to it."
Meanwhile, a source close to Pitt tells PEOPLE, "The judge allowed Pitt's team to revisit [the decision] as evidence develops. It's notable how Jolie has withheld so many documents as privileged. It's just some of the evidence in the case."
The legal battle over the Château Miraval winery began in 2022 when Pitt filed a lawsuit over Jolie's sale of her share in Miraval to Tenute del Mondo — the wine division of the Stoli Group — despite an alleged prior agreement that neither would do so unless the other approved. Jolie denied the agreement existed and responded by filing a countersuit, claiming the actor-producer has been "waging a vindictive war against" her.
Lawyers for Jolie have also asserted that Pitt refused to buy her out of the business because she did not want to sign a non-disclosure agreement "designed to force her silence about his abuse and cover-up," referring to a 2016 private jet flight during which the F1 star allegedly was verbally and physically abusive toward his family. (Pitt was not charged by authorities after investigations into the incident, and Jolie declined to press charges at the time.)
More recently, court documents showed Pitt sued Jolie for $35 million in damages after her 2021 sale of her share of the winery business. On Oct. 29, 2025, Pitt's legal team submitted into evidence communications to and from Jolie's team regarding the sale of her stake in the French winery they co-owned. One exhibit was a November 2023 email in which Maria star's lawyers responded to a lawsuit from Pitt allegedly involving millions in damages.
"The burdensome nature of any production is a matter of Mr. Pitt's own creation—he is suing Ms. Jolie for $35 million in damages," wrote Jolie's lawyers at the time. "As a result, he has to incur the expense of producing the documents that will show (or not show) those damages."
An October 2023 email from Jolie's team also mentions that Fight Club star was "seeking ongoing damages for alleged harm to Miraval's ongoing operations." They also cited "Pitt's continuing refusals to produce documents relating to the reasons why he needed his four-year NDA covering his personal misconduct," saying those communications are key "to the heart of our case and must be produced."
Lawyers for Pitt have previously alleged that less than six months after Jolie sold her shares of Miraval, her lawyer proposed an even broader, mutual non-disparagement clause to Pitt in connection with their divorce proceedings. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor and the Eternals star, who share six children — Maddox, 24, Pax, 22, Zahara, 20, Shiloh, 19, twins Knox and Vivienne, 17 — finalized their divorce in December 2024. Jolie had initially filed to dissolve their marriage in September 2016.
