In a major court ruling, a three-judge panel in California has
disqualified Judge John Ouderkirk from the ongoing Brat Pitt- Angelina Jolie divorce
case.

According to Entertainment Tonight, a California judge has
ruled in the actress’s favor to disqualify Judge John W. Ouderkirk, a private
judge, from overseeing her divorce case with her ex-husband Brad Pitt.

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Jolie
previously requested that Ouderkirk be removed from the case due to him having
a previous relationship with Pitt’s attorney Anne C. Kiley and not disclosing
the number of cases they had previously worked on together, per The Associated
Press.

The latest court ruling comes after Jolie’s original request
to remove Ouderkirk was denied last fall and Pitt won “significantly more
time” with his kids earlier this summer.

Documents obtained by ET read that “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.” Pitt and Ouderkirk are both allowed to appeal the decision.

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A spokesperson for Brad Pitt also released a statement
regarding the latest case update, per ET.

 “The appeals
court ruling was based on a technical procedural issue, but 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 in the children’s best interests,” the statement read. “We
will continue to do what’s necessary legally based on those detailed findings
of what’s best for the children.”