Ad

Latest Posts

Johnny Depp files an appeal in Amber Heard defamation case

Johnny Depp has filed an appeal in his defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

According to court documents obtained by E! News on July 22, the actor filed a notice of appeal which seeks to overturn the $2 million verdict awarded to Amber during their defamation trial.

“This was an overwhelmingly positive verdict for Mr. Depp,” Johnny’s reps told the outlet.

“The verdict speaks for itself, and Mr. Depp believes that this is a time for both parties to move on with their lives and heal. But if Ms. Heard is determined to pursue further litigation by appealing the verdict, Mr. Depp is filing a concurrent appeal to ensure that the full record and all relevant legal issues are considered by the Court of Appeal,” his reps continued.

Johnny’s appeal comes just two weeks after Amber requested a mistrial, based on her legal team’s allegation that the wrong juror had shown up for jury service – however, her request was denied.

Just one week prior to this, the actress request the verdict in the defamation trial be overturned, and a new trial be ordered as they alleged the ruling wasn’t supported by the evidence presented over the six-week trial.

Johnny, 58, launched a $50 million defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife in 2019, after she wrote about being an alleged victim of domestic violence in the op-ed.

Following a six-week trial and 13 hours of deliberations, the jury sided with Depp and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages, and a further $5 million in punitive damages.

However, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate reduced the punitive damages to $350,000, which is the State of Virginia’s legal limit, resulting in total damages of $10.4 million awarded to Johnny.

Following the verdict, Amber’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft revealed the actress is “absolutely not” able to pay that much in damages to Johnny.

She has since launched multiple requests to appeal the verdict, as she claimed “a number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed”.

The attorney also blamed the verdict on a “number of evidentiary issues”, saying “there was so much evidence that did not come in.”

During the six-week long trial, Amber detailed multiple incidents of alleged abuse, and told the court that “violence became normal” towards the end of their relationship.

However, Johnny testified that he never hit his ex-wife, and claimed that she was the abuser in their relationship.

In court, the 58-year-old said the allegations that he was a “drunken, cocaine-fueled menace who beat women” have cost him “everything”.

Johnny and Amber first met in 2009 on the set of the film The Rum Diary, and were married in February 2015.

Their divorce was finalised two years later.

WENN
Ad

Latest Posts

Don't Miss