Business & Money

Pitt and Jolie win damages

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have won an undisclosed sum in settlement of their privacy claim against the News of the World.

Proceedings started against the newspaper in January after they printed a story saying the Hollywood couple was to legally separate. As well as alleging they had split, the paper claimed the pair had agreed custody arrangements.

Power couple Pitt and Jolie, who were busy attending premieres for Jolie's latest film 'salt', were not present at the hearing at London's High Court.

The couple's lawyer said that Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers now accepted the allegations were "false and intrusive".

On behalf of the pair, their lawyer Keith Schilling said: "When the News of the World failed to publicly retract the allegations and apologise for them — thereby leaving their readers in the dark as to the true position — the couple felt they had no alternative than to sue.

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"Today's victory marks the end of the litigation brought by Brad and Angelina."

Pitt and Jolie were reportedly furious over the claims that said they had already visited a divorce lawyer in December 2009 and were discussing about the division of their assets and the custody of their six children.

The actors' action concerned a front page story dated January 24, which featured the headline "Pitts all over". The newspaper was sued for misuse of private information and breach of the 1998 Data Protection Act

Despite arguing that it had acted in good faith, the News of the World acted in good faith, has now agreed to publish an apology as well as pay Pitt and Jolie's costs and damages, which they intend to donate to their charity, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.