A California court has ruled that Marc-Olivier Perrin, the French winemaker who operates Château Miraval, must defend himself in the United States as part of the long-running legal battle between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt over the Provençal wine estate.
In a decision handed down on 6 May 2026, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, rejected a motion by Mr Perrin and his companies – SAS Miraval Provence and SAS Families Perrin – to dismiss the claims against them on jurisdictional grounds. The court found that Mr Perrin’s dealings with Mr Pitt were sufficient to bring him within the reach of the American courts.
Perrin and his companies are expected to appear for trial before the US courts in August 2027.
The Background
The dispute dates to 2022, when Ms Jolie sold her interest in Château Miraval – the luxury wine estate in the south of France – by transferring her shares in her holding company, Nouvel LLC, to Tenute del Mondo. Mr Pitt, her former husband and co-owner of the estate through his holding company Mondo Bongo, is seeking to have the sale invalidated.
In the summer of 2023, Nouvel LLC widened the litigation to include Mr Perrin and his companies, alleging in court filings that they had acted in concert with Mr Pitt to prevent Ms Jolie from exercising her shareholder rights in the estate.
Mr Perrin contested California’s jurisdiction over him. The court has now ruled against him on that point.
