“Brad has owned everything he’s responsible for from day one, unlike Angelina, and he’s not going to own anything further,” Pitt’s lawyer counters to PEOPLE

A source close to Angelina Jolie claims Brad Pitt’s continued legal action over their winery stems from her not agreeing to an NDA. But a source on Pitt’s side says “the non-disparagement clause in the contract” was “a totally standard” business transaction.

In a new second amendment complaint filed this week, Pitt, 59, sued Jolie over her sale of her half of Château Miraval, a French entity comprising a home and vineyard in the south of France where they got married in 2014.

He claims Jolie, 47, “deliberately kept him in the dark about the sale of her share of their family wine business to a Russian oligarch” after their breakup, and the association with the buyer presents an “existential threat to the business.”

The court documents explain that the couple bought “the château as a home to share with their children and the vineyard as a family business.” And, “Jolie, though supportive of Pitt’s efforts on behalf of the family, did none of the work necessary for Miraval’s success.”

“The purported sale disrupts Pitt’s right to enjoy the home he established for his family,” his legal team wrote in the documents.

A source close to Jolie alleged to PEOPLE on Friday that Pitt’s pursuit of legal action over the sale is happening because she didn’t agree to a non-disclosure agreement that would bar her from speaking about previous domestic abuse claims. However, a source close to Pitt tells PEOPLE, “There was a non-disparagement clause in the contract, but that is totally standard to business transactions like this.”

“Brad requested a mutual NDA and non-disparagement strictly related to Miraval over concerns around sensitive financial information and protecting the brand, which is standard with these types of transactions,” the source says. “It had nothing to do with the divorce or the children.”

Pitt’s lawyer, Anne Kiley of Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP, tells PEOPLE, “Brad has owned everything he’s responsible for from day one, unlike Angelina, and he’s not going to own anything further. He’s been through every agency and professional she’s thrown at him, two court hearings and we refer to the findings.”

Jolie’s previous allegations — relating to a 2016 plane ride with their six kids, a situation that led to her filing for divorce days later — came to light in court documents made public last year.

“No matter how many times Mr. Pitt amends his complaint, he cannot escape from the fact that he verbally and physically assaulted Ms. Jolie and their children — even choking one of the children and striking another,” claims the source.

STEFAN ROUSSEAU – WPA POOL/GETTY; JASON KEMPIN/GETTY

“Still today and in the seven years since that fateful plane ride, he personally has never publicly denied that it happened,” the source claims. “Mr. Pitt saying that he is suing his ex-wife to protect his family is hard to understand because he is well aware the children have not felt able to return to the house in France for almost seven years now due to the events that led to Ms. Jolie filing for divorce.”

“The reality is that Pitt refused to complete the Miraval sale with Jolie unless she agreed to being silenced about the abuse as he demanded that $8.5 million be held back to force her to keep quiet,” claims the source.

“Ms. Jolie had no interest in speaking about what happened. In fact, she has not done so even once, and instead she devoted her life to helping the children heal and to advocating to fix the very broken domestic violence response system in America. The only reason any of this has come out now is because Mr. Pitt decided to sue her for not agreeing to keep quiet.”

When Jolie’s legal team brought up the 2016 plane allegations in a response filed in October for the winery case, a source close to Pitt told PEOPLE: “It’s incredibly sad that she continues to rehash, revise and reimagine her description of an event that happened six years ago, adding in completely untrue information to try to get additional attention for herself at the expense of their family.”

“She had the opportunity to share information with law enforcement who made the decision not to press charges. … She has resorted to trying to keep rehashing the same thing. Going back to the same thing month after month with new and still false information for purposes that only she can understand.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 2014. ETHAN MILLER/WIREIMAGE

The Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services and FBI had investigated Pitt after receiving an anonymous tip about a drunken argument he got into with Jolie. The incident occurred while their family traveled on a private jet from France to their home in Los Angeles. Pitt allegedly got “verbally abusive” and “physical” with one of their kids on the plane, a source said at the time. Pitt denied any abuse.

The FBI closed its investigation by November of that year with no charges against Pitt. Earlier that month, DCFS also concluded its investigation into the incident earlier with no findings of abuse.

In 2021, Jolie reflected on her divorce while speaking with The Guardian, saying, “I’m not the kind of person who makes decisions like the decisions I had to make lightly. It took a lot for me to be in a position where I felt I had to separate from the father of my children.”

Jolie — who mentioned “there’s a lot I can’t say” — said at the time that she felt “broken” by her experiences, and that she wanted her family to find a way to move forward, “including their dad.”

Source: https://people.com