Amber Heard appeals for new defamation trial after losing case to Johnny Depp
Amber Heard’s lawyers have said the verdict will have a “chilling effect” as the actress filed for a new defamation trial against Johnny Depp. Read their statement below.
In a recent turn of events, Amber Heard has appealed for a new defamation trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. This arrives almost after five months after the verdict. She has declared that the previous legal battle in Virginia court, where she lost to the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, was held in incorrect shape. The appeal filed by Amber’s lawyers Jay Ward Brown and David L. Axelrod has also further mentioned that the decision will have a “chilling effect” on women who want to stand and speak up against abuse by powerful men.
Amber Heard appeals for new defamation trial against Johnny Depp
According to Deadline, the fresh appeal submitted by Amber Heard’s lawyers Jay Ward Brown and David L. Axelrod at the court reads, “The trial court erroneously refused to dismiss this action on the ground of forum non conveniens, based on its mistaken conclusion that Depp’s claims arose in Virginia because the Washington Post’s servers are located here. The trial court also erred in overruling Heard’s demurrer, in which she argued that the challenged statements are non-actionable expressions of opinion and are not reasonably capable of conveying the alleged defamatory implication.”
The 68-page record added, “That holding, if allowed to stand, undoubtedly will have a chilling effect on other women who wish to speak about abuse involving powerful men.” The appeal by Amber’s lawyers revealed several claims mentioning that the trial has taken place in the wrong format.
The application further stated, “This case also should never have gone to trial because another court had already concluded that Depp abused Heard on multiple occasions. After Depp filed this case, the United Kingdom High Court of Justice ruled in a separate defamation action brought by Depp that Heard’s abuse allegations were true.”
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation case
In June 2022, the defamation case trial came to an end. As a result, the jury awarded Depp USD 10 million in compensatory damages and USD 5 million in punitive damages from Heard. On the other hand, Amber was rewarded USD 2 million in compensatory damages and zero in punitive damages from Depp.
A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, Sneha is an entertainment journalist for close to two years and is
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