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Amber Heard asked a judge on Friday to overturn the verdict against her – arguing that the $10.35 million verdict in favor of Johnny Depp was not supported by the evidence presented during the sensational six-week trial.
In a 43-page motion, attorneys for Heard, Elaine Bredehoft and Ben Rottenborn argued that Judge Penney Azcarate should vacate the verdict and dismiss the lawsuit in Fairfax County District Court in Virginia.
“From a legal perspective, given the evidence and the law, the verdict is excessive and should be overturned,” they wrote.
A jury awarded Depp $10.35 million, finding that his 36-year-old ex-wife defamed him and denied him business opportunities by writing an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018, describing herself as ” Public Figure Depicting Domestic Violence”.
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He claimed that three statements in the comment were defamatory – including the caption that referred to Heard as a sexual assault survivor.
Actress Amber Heard stands with attorney Elaine Bredehoft before closing arguments in the Depp v. Heard trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse on May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia.
(Steve Helber / POOL / AFP)
Heard countered Depp, 59, and won $2 million for her allegation that a statement by his attorney Adam Waldman to the press, in which he called her claims a “hoax,” was libelous.
The latest filing from Heard’s team claims Depp was unable to prove the comment cost the actor his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean six, noting that no contract was signed.
“Mr. Depp has not presented any evidence of financial loss suffered,” lawyers for the “Aquaman” actress wrote.
AMBER HEARD IS OFFICIALLY ON THE HOOK AFTER THE CASES OF THE $10.35 MILLION JUDGMENT
In addition, the lawyers argued that Depp unreasonably extended the damages period to six years. The trial was scheduled to focus on December 18, 2018 — when the comment was published — through November 2, 2020, they wrote.
But in the case presented to the jury, Depp’s attorneys went back on the restraining order Heard filed on May 27, 2016, accusing him of hitting her in the face with a cellphone, sparking the years-long public battle between the feuding exes.
A photo combo of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp in court on May 23, 2022.
((AP Photo/Steve Helber, Pool))
Meanwhile, Azcarate barred a jury from hearing a British judge upholding 12 counts of domestic violence against Heard following a high-profile libel trial in London in 2020. Depp had sued the editor of The Sun newspaper for branding him a wife beater and lost.
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“The exclusion of the UK verdict, coupled with Mr Depp’s constant urging of the jury to go back six years and exonerate him and restore his reputation, resulted in an untenable $10 million damages judgment and a 5 million punitive damages judgment Millions of dollars,” he wrote to the lawyers.
Azcarate reduced the punitive damages to $350,000 – the maximum under Virginia law.
Amber Heard leaves Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia following the verdict in Johnny Depp’s libel suit against her.
(Win McNamee)
The motion also argued that Depp failed to prove “actual malice,” namely that Heard did not believe or have serious doubts that her ex-husband had abused her when the comment was posted.
The filing broadly repeated the defense case presented by Heard’s team in court, which the jury rejected. Heard has announced that he will appeal, and the recent filing is the first step in that process.
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Depp is scheduled to face another civil trial in Los Angeles in July. A location manager on the set of City of Lies filed a lawsuit accusing Depp of hitting him in 2017.
