Amber Heard filed a motion to have the verdict overturned in her ex Johnny Depp's trial last week. His lawyers react - with incomprehension. They accuse the actress of not meeting a deadline and are demanding that her application be dismissed.
The dispute between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is entering the next round: A few days ago, Amber Heard applied to a court in the US state of Virginia to overturn the verdict in the defamation trial. Depp's lawyers are now taking action and have lodged an objection. They are demanding that Heard's application be denied. This emerges from court documents obtained by "E! News".
Heard's motion for annulment said the verdict that she defamed Depp was not supported by any evidence. Her attorneys also allege that one juror was not properly screened and questioned whether the juror should have been called to the jury at all.
Depp's attorneys now say, according to E! News, that Heard and her team gained access to the pre-trial jury list in early April and "had more than enough time before the trial began and during the six-week trial when at least two Alternate jurors were available to examine and discover the alleged 'new' facts". It goes on to say that the juror in question was screened "just like any other juror." Depp's lawyers accuse Heard of not submitting her application by the deadline.
"While understandably dissatisfied with the outcome of the trial, Ms. Heard has found no legitimate basis to overturn the jury's decision in any respect," E! News is quoted as saying. "Mr. Depp respectfully submits that the court should dismiss Ms. Heard's post-trial motions as reckless."
In early June, Depp won the defamation lawsuit against Heard after around six weeks of the trial. He sued her for $50 million for an article she published in the Washington Post in 2018. In it, she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. She did not mention her ex-husband by name. Depp nevertheless claimed the post ruined his career, damaged his reputation and cost him a lot of money.
Heard then filed a $100 million counterclaim against her ex. The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages, but Heard only has to pay $10.35 million under a Virginia law that limits punitive damages - the judge reduced the amount. Heard was also awarded $2 million in damages for her counterclaims against Depp.
The couple got married in 2015. The two separated in 2016 and divorced in 2017. Both parties have repeatedly accused each other of domestic violence in the process.
