Angelina Jolie has filed a motion with the Los Angeles Superior Court requesting that the judge who has overseen her divorce from Brad Pitt be disqualified.
Allegedly, the reason why Jolie has requested the removal is due to a business relationship that one of the Pitt’s lawyers has with the judge. According to Page Six, the lawyer failed to disclose this information in a timely manner to Jolie’s legal team, making it a conflict of interest.
In the motion, it claims that Judge John W. Ouderkirk “failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship between the judge and Respondent’s counsel.”
Coming from Jolie’s legal team, they claim that Pitt’s attorney “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.”
Pitt and Jolie had enlisted the help of a private judge for their divorce proceedings, in order for the details around the case to remain out of the public eye.
Despite their divorce was declared in April 2019, they are part of a bifurcated judgement, meaning that the details of their divorce including finances and child custody still need to be decided on.
Pitt’s team has sought to keep the same judge, ensuring personal details divulged in the case are kept private. However, a source close to the couple told Page Six that Jolie has requested a public court, delaying anything from being resolved.
“This is about how much time Brad gets with the kids, how does sharing time with the kids work…this divorce has been going on for four years, for goodness’ sake.”
Back in June, Jolie even revealed why she filed for divorce from Pitt. The former couple’s separation was for the sake of their six children — Maddox, Pax, Shiloh, Zahara, Vivienne, and Knox.
“I separated for the well-being of my family,” she told the publication, adding: “It was the right decision.”
