Angelina Jolie's lawyers accuse Brad Pitt of seeking ‘special treatment’ in custody battle
Angelina Jolie’s lawyers have accused Brad Pitt of trying to garner “special treatment” during their custody battle.
According to documents obtained by PageSix, attorneys for the Tomb Raider actress fired back at the Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood actor’s attempt to overturn a previous decision that gave Jolie full custody of their five minor children.
“This sort of gamesmanship, a last-ditch effort by a celebrity litigant seeking special treatment, is not what this Court’s limited review resources are for,” the legal team wrote. “There is nothing to see or review here. There is no issue meeting this Court’s rigorous standards for, or worthy of, review.”
Earlier this month, a lawyer for Pitt, 57, filed a petition with the California Supreme Court arguing that the 46-year-old should not have been granted full custody due to an "administrative error" by Judge John W. Ouderkirk, a temporary judge they jointly selected.
Ouderkirk granted the star joint custody in May, but the judge was later disqualified for not adequately disclosing business ties with Pitt’s attorneys. In the documents, obtained by Variety, lawyers working for the actor argue dismissing the judge "effectively upended the constitutionally authorised temporary judging system in California" and "throws open the door to disqualification challenges at any point during a case, even if the party raising the motion has long been on notice about the alleged grounds for disqualification."
"In so doing, the opinion is guaranteed to fuel disqualification gamesmanship and raises serious questions as to whether the temporary judging system is a viable option in California's severely backlogged judicial system," the documents continue.
Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after two years of marriage and 10 years together. Ouderkirk, who married the couple in 2014, confirmed their divorce in 2019. Jolie fought to have Ouderkirk removed from the case, first losing her petition for his removal. She won an appeal, which cited business ties between Pitt's lawyers and the judge, earlier this year.
"We are seeking review in the California Supreme Court because the temporary judge, who had been appointed and repeatedly renewed by both sides, was improperly disqualified after providing a detailed, fact-based custodial decision, following a lengthy legal process with multiple witnesses and experts," Pitt's lawyers said in a statement.
Pitt and Jolie share six children; three adopted and three biological. Following 20-year-old Maddox, their five minor children are Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 13.
