Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are arguing in court for custody of their biological and adapted children. But the appointed judge angered Jolie. Now she is rid of him.
Los Angeles – The actress won a custody battle between ex-married couple Angelina Jolie (46) and Brad Pitt (57).
An appeal report in California followed Jolie’s request to remove private judge John Ouderkirk, US media reported. Ouderkirk had violated his “ethical obligations”, quoted “People.com” from the court decision.
In the long-standing dispute over custody of the ex-couple’s five biological and adopted children, Jolie and Pitt had turned on the private judge. In May, Ouderkirk agreed to an extension of Pitt’s custody rights, angering Jolie. The actress appealed. The appeals court now found that there were doubts about the impartiality of the private judge. He did not disclose other business connections to Pitt’s lawyers.
A Pitt spokesman told People.com that this was just a procedural issue. The facts about what would be best for the children have not changed. Trial observers assume that the custody dispute that has been kept under lock and key will drag on for even longer. Jolie and Pitt could appoint a new private judge to arbitrate or go to public family court.
After a long relationship, the actors married in 2014. Two years later, Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt, which became official in 2019. She demanded sole custody of the six children, who are now between 12 and 19 years old. Since then, negotiations have been going on in court about the division of custody and finances. At 19, the eldest son, Maddox, is no longer part of the litigation. dpa
