While no one wins when things get litigious between parents, Nicki Swift spoke to Holly Davis, the founding partner of Austin-based law firm Kirker Davis LLP, about the chances of Brad Pitt coming out on top while taking Angelina Jolie to court.
Davis explained Pitt will need to produce “a paper trail leading directly from the prohibition against selling the interest” which proves Jolie didn’t have his consent, noting, “In these types of cases there cannot typically be a sale of a person’s interest in a marital asset without Court approval or the approval by the other party.”
She explained that Pitt “can sue for damages,” but it “will have to be determined whether or not [his] consent was somehow either perceived to be obtained, or partially obtained” by Jolie. “Because these transactions require the contracts and sale to be in writing, and because an Order prohibiting the sale of each other’s interest is likely in writing, this will be a case based on the objectively verifiable evidence.”
Pitt stands a chance of winning the case — which does not affect their ongoing custody battle as they hash out the terms of their divorce — if he “can show that this was an underhanded or fraudulent deal,” Davis added.
Jolie made it clear she wanted to sell shares in the French property to a third party in July 2021, while Pitt opened up to Wine Spectator in 2014 about how much he loved producing wine there.
