Angelina Jolie just scored a huge win in her nasty custody battle with Brad Pitt!
After she unsuccessfully tried to have Judge John Ouderkirk disqualified from the legal matter, a three-judge panel actually reversed the previous court ruling in an opinion submitted on Friday. According to People, the judges found that Ouderkirk “violated his ethical obligations” and disqualified him — meaning he is now ineligible from serving as a temporary judge in the case. The three judges found that Ouderkirk’s “failure to make mandatory disclosures” about other legal proceedings with Brad’s legal team “might cause an objective person, aware of all of the facts” to doubt Ouderkirk’s impartiality.
That makes total sense!
As we previously reported, the private judge had granted the 57-year-old actor more time with the five children — Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox. Their oldest son Maddox, who has been very vocal about disliking Pitt, is no longer a part of the custody deal since he is now a legal adult. However, this new ruling makes the previous order completely void, which means the former couple will have to start the custody fight all over again!
Oof, yeah, this legal war definitely won’t be ending anytime soon then! After the ruling, a spokesperson for the Fight Club star vowed to fight the reversal in a statement to Page Six, saying:
“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.”
Last November, the momma failed to have Ouderkirk removed from the custody case. Her attorneys argued that the judge “denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children’s health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case.” Angelina further claimed that Ouderkirk “refused to hear the minor teenagers’ input as to their experiences, needs, or wishes as to their custody fate.” It is still unclear what evidence Jolie referred to or what the kids wanted to testify about, but we can imagine they’ll get the opportunity to do so with this legal win.
In the end, it seems everything worked out in Angie’s favor! Reactions to the latest ruling in Brad and Angelina’s custody battle, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments (below)!
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