Angelina Jolie calls for removal of private judge in Brad Pitt divorce case

Angelina Jolie has asked for the removal of the private judge overseeing her divorce from Brad Pitt over claims he has a business relationship with her ex-husband’s attorney.

In a filing made in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday (10 August), Jolie requested that Judge John W Ouderkirk be disqualified from the case four years after she first filed for divorce in 2016.

The actor claims that Ouderkirk had “failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship” he had with Anne C Kiley, one of Pitt’s attorneys who he has worked with on multiple cases.

Brad Pitt arrives at an event. File

The document also states that Kiley had "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."

Arguing that private judges should be bound by the same rules as other judges when it comes to impartiality, the document states: “It doesn´t matter if Judge Ouderkirk is actually biased … all my client is asking for is a fair trial based on facts, with no special favours extended to either side.”

Jolie and Pitt were together for fourteen years, two of which they spent married, before the Maleficent actor filed for divorce in 2016.