Four years after filing for divorce, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt still can’t seem to come to an agreement.
The pair have been legally single since April 2019, but their divorce proceedings hit a new complication last week after Jolie and her legal team filed paperwork to have private judge John W. Ouderkirk removed from the case. Her lawyer Samantha Bley DeJean explained to Us Weekly, “All my client is asking for is a fair trial based on facts, with no special favors extended to either side. The only way litigants can trust the process is for everyone involved to ensure that there’s transparency and impartiality.”
According to Page Six, the actor first began looking into Ouderkirk and his background after becoming “concerned that something untoward was happening” with the proceedings. Her filing alleges that Ouderkirk “failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship between the judge and [Pitt’s] counsel,” Anne C. Kiley. It goes on to say that Kiley has, allegedly, “actively advocated for Judge Ouderkirk’s financial interests in moving—over the opposing party’s opposition—to have his appointment (and his ability to continue to receive fees) extended in a high-profile case.”
A source close to Jolie explained to Vanity Fair, “Angelina’s team was kept in the dark about matters that should have been disclosed. Any attempt to suggest otherwise is only to distract from behavior that violates the rules of ethics for judges.”
However, Pitt’s lawyers issued a response to this latest legal tactic in court documents obtained by E.T., stating that Ouderkirk’s new appointments were “fully disclosed to Jolie…And still she has never objected to his continued involvement in this proceeding until now. On the contrary, Jolie has stipulated three times to extend Judge Ouderkirk’s appointment.”
The statement continues, “Jolie filed her request to disqualify Judge Ouderkirk and in the process delay consideration of deposition testimony and other evidence. 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.”
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