Brad Pitt questions Angelina Jolie’s recent win in custody.
The 57-year-old actor argued that the 46-year-old actress should not have been given custody of the couple’s children due to an administrative error by a jointly selected interim judge, according to documents filed with the California Supreme Court and page six on Wednesday.
The “Inglourious Basterds” actor was awarded joint custody of the former couple’s five underage children for the first time in May by Judge John W. Ouderkirk.
But a California appeals court disqualified Ouderkirk because it was found he had failed to adequately disclose business relationships with Pitt’s attorneys.
Ouderkirk, who refused to disqualify himself from their divorce when Jolie asked him to do so in a 2020 court case, has a long history with the family. He even married Pitt and the “Maleficent” actress in 2014.
Brad Pitt continues to fight Angelina Jolie for custody of five of his six children.Getty Images
A lower court ultimately ruled that Jolie’s motion to dismiss the judge came too late, but she appealed that decision and won.
Pitt’s camp says in its new file that Ouderkirk’s every mistake was minor and not worth setting aside his custody decision. It is also alleged that Jolie was looking for a reason to remove the lawyer from the case.
Jolie and Pitt share six children. GC images
“We are moving to the California Supreme Court for review because the mutually appointed and repeatedly renewed interim judge was wrongly disqualified following a detailed, fact-based detention decision following a lengthy trial involving multiple witnesses and experts,” Pitt’s attorneys said in one Explanation.
Page Six reported that the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star vowed to defend himself against the court’s decision in July.
“The lower court ruling will reward parties who lose custody of children and condone their gambling skills by allowing them to await the likely direction of the case before moving to disqualify the judge,” argued his lawyers in their statement.
“Tolerating the use of this type of strategic ‘lie’ disqualification challenge will cause irreparable harm to both the children and families involved in this case and other families in other cases by making these disputes unnecessary in an already congested framework court system is extended. If you allow such a sophisticated litigation strategy, parents will be deprived of irreplaceable time with their children, as judges will be disqualified for minor reasons during their cases. “
Jolie and Pitt share six children: Maddox (20), Pax (17), Zahara (16), Shiloh (15) and 13-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. Maddox will not be included in the ongoing custody battle as he is no longer a minor.
A Jolie representative did not return our request for comment.
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