Amber Heard has appealed her ex-husband Johnny Depp’s successful defamation lawsuit in the US.
After a trial that lasted weeks earlier this year, a Virginia jury found in favor of Depp, A 2018 Washington Post article was ruled by heard is slander.
The actor was awarded $15m (£12m) by the court – included $10 million (£8 million) in compensatory damages and another $5 million (£4 million) in punitive damages – but the judge limited the punitive damages to a total of $10.35 million (approx. million pounds).
Depp’s case is that Heard defamed him in an article in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence.
While she did not mention the 59-year-old by name, he argued the implication was clear – and denied the abuse allegations.
The Virginia Court of Appeals received a briefing on Hurd’s appeal on Nov. 23, and Deadline shared details of the 68-page report. It comes after the Aquaman actress filed a formal notice that she will appeal earlier in the summer.
According to the document, Hield, 36, called for the original sentence to be quashed, or for a new trial.
Lawyers for the actress argued that Depp and the case had “no meaningful connection” to Virginia, and that it was “completely inconvenient” for him to sue there instead of California — “both parties live there, and Depp claims to have suffered reputational damage there”.
They said the Fairfax County court conducting the trial was “erroneous” in concluding that Depp’s claims arose in the state because the Washington Post’s servers are located in the state.
They also argued that the case should not have gone to trial in the US at all after Depp lost a separate UK lawsuit against The Sun in 2020 – a judge in which ruled an article published by the newspaper Allegations of abuse against Depp are “basically true.”
Heard’s lawyers also said “evidence errors have seriously damaged” the actress during her US trial.
U.S. First Instance Judgment
After six weeks of testimony, the Depp v. Heard case concluded on June 1, with a jury finding Heard defamatory for a 2018 Washington Post article about her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. Depp.
Heard won one of her countersuits, successfully arguing that one of Depp’s lawyers defamed her, claiming her allegations were an “abusive hoax” designed to capitalize on the #MeToo movement.
A jury awarded her $2m (£1.5m) in damages.
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Following the trial verdict in the US, Depp has been devoting himself to his music career, performing with Jeff Baker and announcing that his ultra-rock band Hollywood Vampires will be touring in 2023.
hey too unexpected cameo At the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards – when he appeared on stage dressed as an astronaut, he joked with the audience that he “needs work.”
Sky News has contacted representatives of Depp and Heard for comment.