- Actor Johnny Depp, 59, has appealed the $2 million he was ordered to pay ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, during their defamation trial earlier this year
- Depp said that the order was ‘erroneous’ because the jury ‘overwhelmingly’ favored him during the trial
- The actor and his lawyers filed the paperwork in Virginia Thursday, asking the court to overturn the order
- Heard won one of her three countersuit claims which alleged that Depp’s lawyer defamed her when he said she had lied about a claim
- Depp’s current counsel says that he should not have to pay because of a statement made by his lawyer
- Heard has also filed an appeal in Fairfax, Virginia, where the trial was held earlier this year
Johnny Depp, 59, has filed an appeal of the verdict that he is to pay $2 million to his ex-wife Amber Heard, 36, following their defamation trial.
Depp was ordered to pay his ex back in June after jurors in their highly publicized trial ruled with Heard on one of her three countersuit claims.
The count related to a statement made by one of Depp’s lawyers, Adam Waldman, claiming Heard and her friends had trashed their apartment and that she had lied about it.
‘The judgment in Ms. Heard’s favor on that lone statement is erroneous,’ Depp’s lawyers argued in the filing on Thursday according to excerpts shared by Law and Crime.
Heard and Depp were in court over statements Heard had made about the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ actor, claiming he had abused her during their relationship.
Depp filed the defamation suit, saying that her claims in a Washington Post op-ed article had detrimentally impacted his career.
Heard did not name Depp publicly in the piece but given their status and notoriety, it was evident who she was referencing in regard to her history of being allegedly abused.
In the trial, Deep was awarded more than $10 million in damages by the jury, to be paid by Heard and her estate.
The brief also alleges that Heard and her representation’s arguments during the trial were ‘fatally flawed.’
Now, the actor says that because the jury ‘overwhelmingly’ agreed with him on the other counts brought, he shouldn’t have to pay.
Depp’s filing Thursday in the Virginia Court of Appeals claims that Waldman’s statements did not correctly represent the actor’s own thoughts and beliefs and therefore he should not be held responsible for them.
‘As a matter of law, Mr. Waldman is an independent contractor, whose allegedly tortious conduct is not automatically attributable to Mr. Depp,’ the court filing says.
His current legal counsel argues that Depp should not be held accountable for statements he did not personally make.
‘The jury found that Ms. Heard defamed Mr. Depp in the Op-Ed and awarded Mr. Depp $10 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages,’ the filing states.
‘On the Counterclaim, the jury found in Mr. Depp’s favor on two of three Waldman Statements, but in favor of Ms. Heard on the third Waldman Statement. That is the only statement at issue in this appeal.’
‘The jury’s emphatic favorable verdict on all three defamatory statements alleged in his complaint fully vindicated Mr. Depp and restored his reputation,’ the filing said.
The filing continues by stating that he came out on top after a ‘full and fair trial’ and that was the reason he won the multiple counts of defamation the jury awarded him for.
‘Indeed, Mr. Depp prevailed in the trial court on virtually all material issues, and the verdict of the jury and judgment of the trial court represent an intelligent and well-reasoned decision on the merits after a full and fair trial,’ lawyers for the actor wrote.
At the end of the defamation trial, Depp was awarded $10million to $15million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages.
The judge later capped the damages at the state’s maximum of $350,000 leaving Depp with a total of $8.35 million.
The actress was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages out of the $100 million she sought.
Depp’s team said in October after Heard and her counsel filed an appeal that they too would be filing one to ensure ‘all information is considered by the court.’
Heard’s attorney also asked the judge last month to throw out the decision and declare a mistrial.
It was argued that one of the jurors on the case should not have been eligible to serve because his summons was intended for his father, who had the same name and lived at the same address.
Judge Penny Azcarate shot down the request claiming there was no ‘evidence of fraud or wrongdoing’ by the juror and that the jury’s verdict should stand.’
In her appeal, Heard says that he ex-husband misled the jury into believing she was on trial for a statement prior to her domestic abuse allegation and that it swayed the result.
[VIA]
