Angelina Jolie has landed a major victory in her years-long divorce battle against ex-husband Brad Pitt after a California appeals court disqualified the private judge linked to the actor on Friday.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with Jolie that Judge John W. Ouderkirk didn’t sufficiently disclose business relationships with Pitt’s attorneys. It is not clear what those dealings are.

He also didn’t allow the couple’s kids to testify, despite Jolie wanting them to.

The pair share six kids, five of whom are under 18. They are Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and twins Vivienne and Nox, 13.

Jolie adopted Maddox in 2002, then Zahara in 2005, a year after she’d met Pitt while the pair filmed Mr and Mrs Smith. He was married to Jennifer Anniston at the time.

They then adopted Pax together in 2007, and had biological kids Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne afterwards. Pitt adopted all of the kids before they got married in 2014.

‘Judge Ouderkirk´s ethical breach, considered together with the information disclosed concerning his recent professional relationships with Pitt’s counsel, might cause an objective person, aware of all the facts, reasonably to entertain a doubt as to the judge´s ability to be impartial.

‘Disqualification is required,’ the court ruled.

Still going: Angelina Jolie scores MAJOR victory in divorce battle against ex-husband Brad Pitt after court disqualifies private judge previously linked to the actor’s attorneys. They are shown in 2015, a year before she filed for divorce

However, Pitt’s team hit back, telling PageSix in a statement: ‘The appeals court ruling was based on a technical procedural issue.’

‘The facts haven’t changed. There is an extraordinary amount of factual evidence which led the judge – and the many experts who testified – to reach their clear conclusion about what is best in the children’s best interests.

‘We will continue to do what’s necessary legally based on the detailed findings of what’s best for the children.’

A source close to the actor said Pitt is disappointed by the legal setback, telling People: ‘Brad believes there is overwhelming evidence that the current situation isn’t good for the kids. This just sets things back for everyone.’

Jolie filed for sole custody after filing for divorce after an incident on the couple’s private plane during which she said he became violent and abusive.

Despite her protestations, Judge Ouderkirk earlier this year granted Pitt tentative joint custody of the kids.

Now, it’s unclear if that will remain in place.

The decision means that the custody fight over the couple’s five minor children, which was nearing an end, could be starting over.

The judge already ruled the pair divorced, but separated the child custody issues.

Like many celebrity couples, Pitt and Jolie opted to hire their own judge to increase their privacy in the divorce proceedings.

Attorneys for the two sides did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Jolie, 46, and Pitt, 57, were among Hollywood´s most prominent couples for 12 years.

They had been married for two years when Jolie filed for divorce in 2016.

They were declared divorced in April 2019, after their lawyers asked for a judgment that allowed a married couple to be declared single while other issues remained, including finances and child custody.

The custody battle has been a source of contention.

Jolie with the couple’s six children, Maddox, Shiloh, Vivienne, Knox, Zahara and Pax in 2018. She wanted sole custody of most of the kids. She had already adopted Maddox when she met Pitt

Pitt and Jolie with Zahara and Maddox in India in 2006. He adopted all of her kids including Zahara and Maddox, who she’d adopted single, when the pair became a couple

Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk