In a fresh brawl, Brad Pitt has accused ex wife Angelina Jolie of trying to stall the custody arrangement of their six children. She has requested the removal of Judge John W. Ouderkirk from their ongoing divorce case.
In a court filing on August 7, Angelina claimed the judge had “failed to make timely mandatory disclosures of ongoing business and professional relationships” between himself and Brad’s attorneys.
The former couple had first split in 2016 after 12 years of being together. They share six children, Maddox, 19, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. The couple is facing a custody battle in their divorce drama.
Angelina, 45, filed papers on August 7, claiming that Judge Ouderkirk who married the former couple at their French estate Château Miraval in 2014 -failed to disclose other business relationships.’ Jolie alleged in her filing, the relationship Ouderkirk had with Pitt’s lawyers and legal team, suggesting that he would be ‘biased during their divorce case.
She added in her request that she was ‘never afforded the opportunity to even raise a concern or to object to the ever-increasing business relationships between Judge Ouderkirk and [Pitt’s] counsel – relationships that were providing a steady stream of income to Judge Ouderkirk and the potential for future work.
“These are precisely the type of repeat customer circumstances that create doubts about a privately-compensated private judge’s ability to remain impartial.
Pitt accuses Jolie of stalling the Custody Case:
But Pitt, according to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE magazine, has responded in papers filed on Thursday, August 13. It called Jolie’s filing a ‘Hail Mary’- an American Football reference to deliberately delay a game.
In the legal documents, Pitt’s legal team accuses the actress of making a ‘transparently tactical gambit’ to delay matters. Also adding, that it will be their own children who are ‘hurt most’ by the hold up.
The documents say Jolie’s request is ‘a thinly veiled attempt. Jolie wants to delay the adjudication of long-pending custody issues in this case.
According to Pitt’s lawyers, Jolie had been made fully aware that Ouderkirk had accepted ‘additional new engagements involving the actor’s team. She had ‘never objected to Ouderkirk ‘continued involvement in the proceedings until now.
In Pitt’s response, he also pointed out three times where Jolie and her lawyers are said to have asked to extend Ouderkirk appointment to their ongoing divorce case.
The documents add that Pitt is concerned about how the divorce delays will affect their children:
“Unfortunately, the individuals hurt most by Jolie’s transparently tactical gambit are the parties’ own children, who continue to be deprived of a final resolution to these custody issues
Response from Jolie’s side:
Jolie’s lawyer, Samantha Bley DeJean, responded to Pitt’s filing in a statement to PEOPLE saying: ‘It is unfortunate that Mr. Pitt’s team has sought to intervene ahead of Judge Ouderkirk response.
‘One can only conclude that this is an attempt to obstruct or influence Judge Ouderkirk answer. Any delay in these proceedings is due to their zealous attempt. The attempt is to create an unrecognized special exception for their client’s benefit.’
The report adds that a source close to Pitt’s team, claim that it was Jolie’s team who actually knew the judge first. The only excuse for their filing is that her team knew they were likely to lose. Therefore, they needed to stall by changing the referee in the fourth quarter.