Amber Heard’s request to have the jury’s decision in her famous defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp overturned, and the case retried was denied in its entirety by the court.
This month, the defense team for Heard, 36, submitted a motion arguing that the evidence used to support the jury’s finding that she had slandered Depp, 59, was insufficient.
They also claimed that one of the jurors had not been thoroughly screened, raising the issue of whether or not they were even permitted to serve on the panel. Heard’s attorneys argued in a 43-page memorandum that the judgment, as well as the $10 million in damages she now owes Depp, should be overturned because Depp…
“proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false” during the trial.
Ben Chew, Depp’s primary attorney, responded to the motion by saying, “What we expected, just lengthier, no more substantive,” in a statement to Courthouse News.
Heard has claimed that she is unable to pay Depp’s $10.35 million in damages. She has previously stated that she intends to appeal the decision but to do so, she would have to put up a bond equal to the whole amount of the damages. This most recent motion was probably an attempt to get around those criteria while still pursuing a new judgment.
The motion questioned the legitimacy of the jury selection procedure by bringing up Juror 15, whose birth year was 1945, according to court documents. According to the complaint, Juror 15 “was plainly born after 1945.”
According to information readily available to the public, he appears to have been born in 1970. This disparity begs the question of whether Juror 15 was properly screened by the court to serve on the jury and whether they ever got a summons for jury duty.
According to the complaint,
“It seems his identification could not have been established.”
Heard further contended that the jury’s decision to give Depp excessive damages was based on factors unrelated to the subject of his lawsuit. The motion claims that despite Depp having “represented to the court he would limit his damages to the period Dec 18, 2018 through November 2, 2020”
The time between Heard’s op-ed about Depp’s alleged abuse being published in the Washington Post and when a UK court found that he had abused Heard — Depp did not attempt to narrow the scope of his alleged damages within those two years.
“Mr. Depp made no such attempt to restrict his claimed damages at any time during the trial. Instead, Mr. Depp persisted in asking the jury to clear his name and preserve his legacy for his children despite Ms. Heard’s accusation of domestic violence against him in May 2016 throughout the Closings. “
During the most recent session concerning the issue on June 24, when the judge formalized the decision in the court’s records, Judge Penney Azcarate made it apparent that she did not want the case to go as it was. She rejected pleas from Heard’s team for additional hearings. Judge Azcarate also informed Heard’s team that they might request a judicial appeal if they wanted one.
The June judgment concluded that both celebrities had slandered one another, although Depp’s hand was far more favorable. While Heard only received $2 million in damages from Depp, he received $10.35 million from her. Heard owed Depp a hefty $8.35 million in total.
Heard later acknowledged, via her attorney, that she could not pay the millions in damages. A day after the verdict, her attorney announced that she would be appealing the decision.
Her stance on the situation has subsequently changed, though, and rumors are circulating that she intends to write a “tell-all” book to make money to cover the damages. Heard was allegedly “broke,” according to a source close to her. After a terrible few months, they claimed she “considers her career in Hollywood gone” and “had nothing to lose.”
What are your thoughts on the latest developments of this infamous trial? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Sources:
Daily Mail
NowThisNews
