Angelina Jolie’s request to remove Judge John W. Ouderkirk from her divorce proceedings with Brad Pitt has now been rejected.
Fans will remember that the Salt actress had previously filed a petition to remove the judge who has been overseeing their divorce proceedings. She alleged that he had not divulged details of his business interests, which he shared with her former husband's legal counsel.
Ouderkirk is the same person who got Pitt and Angie married at their French chateau in 2014. Jolie felt that given the kind of professional relationship the judge shared with Pitt’s team, it would not be right for him to conduct their divorce proceedings.
Pitt and his team might be feeling vindicated as California’s Supreme Court passed a ruling that the judge would continue to preside over their divorce case. Reports have it that he was Angie’s original choice. The actress was, allegedly, trying to remove him as the outcome of the case would possibly not be in her favor at the end.
The court felt that Ouderkirk had made all the necessary disclosures for his associations with the law firm, which is now representing the Fight Club actor. The court further said in its ruling that Jolie was already aware of his appointment two years ago. So she could have opposed then instead of her “untimely” request now (via Daily Mail).
Jolie was slammed by Pitt and his legal team when she had requested for the removal of the judge in August this year. The actor’s team accused her of making attempts to unnecessarily delay the case.
Meanwhile, Jolie’s team defended their client’s actions stating that she just wanted a fair and unbiased trial. It seems the intent was that neither Pitt nor she should get any kind of special favors.
Unfortunately, there has been much mud-slinging in the divorce proceedings of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The lawsuit has now been continuing for four years without any outcome.
A second lawyer has now withdrawn from Angie’s legal team and sources insist that the actress could purposely take up low-budget films to limit her income. According to a New Idea report, she might do this to extract more financial help from her ex-spouse.
While this news might have come as a disappointment for the Maleficent actress, Angelina could be happy that her name has been included in Hello! Magazine’s Kind List this year.
Indeed, it has been an excellent choice as Angelina Jolie is a renowned human-right activist and philanthropist apart from being a Hollywood A-lister. She has been actively involved in many humanitarian projects for several years now.