It’s been almost six months since Johnny Depp emerged victorious in a legal battle against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, as a result of which the former was awarded a sum of about $15 million, with $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages (which was reduced to a total of $350,000 as per Virginia’s law).
However, a new development seems to have surfaced in the defamation lawsuit with Amber Heard claiming that the trial’s verdict becomes nullified since it was carried out in the wrong state. Her attorneys are currently attempting to countersue The Lone Ranger actor by opposing the jury’s verdict, claiming that the court favored him more at the expense of overlooking certain important, factual aspects of the evidence.
Amber Heard’s Lawyers Try to Overturn the Jury’s Verdict
A week ago, attorneys representing Amber Heard in the Depp vs. Heard defamation case filed a different appeal in the court, demanding that the jury’s verdict which was passed months ago, may be overturned, either with a dismissal of Johnny Depp‘s claims or with a new trial altogether.
Heard’s legal team has filed a 68-page-long appeal, pointing out various legal errors including how the trial took place in the wrong state and how the judge didn’t take into consideration some of the most imperative parts of the evidence, thereby tarnishing the jury’s ultimate decision.
“The trial court improperly prevented the jury from considering several separate instances in which Heard reported Depp’s abuse to a medical professional,” Heard’s lawyers stated. The appeal further remarks how in case the verdict isn’t reversed, the “exclusion of contemporaneous reports of domestic abuse to medical professionals” will set a dangerous precedent for other victims of abuse and might even discourage them from speaking up against their traumatic experiences.
This new development on Heard’s part comes just a month after Depp’s lawyers filed an appeal over the Aquaman actress being offered $2 million in damages, claiming that the jury’s decision was “erroneous” and that Depp shouldn’t be held responsible for his lawyer’s actions, who publicly defamed Heard through certain comments in a newspaper.
The Legal Battle Between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp Carries On
The Depp v. Heard trial went on for six long weeks after commencing in April, with the Pirates of the Caribbean star winning the battle.
Depp, 59, saw thousands of fans support him along with various celebrities backing him up throughout the duration of the case, and has gradually started to make public appearances following the trial as well. He recently bestowed his presence in one of Rihanna’s latest fashion shows and was also seen in MTV’s Video Music Awards.
Heard’s social media presence, on the other hand, from an overall perspective, seems to have reduced drastically ever since the trial, after the 36-year-old actress was reprimanded quite severely by the general public both during the trial and after its end.
And while her legal team has issued a new appeal with the intention of overturning the court’s verdict, the Never Back Down star continues to be in yet another interconnected legal conflict with an insurance company with regard to the damages she has to pay to her ex-husband.
A final call concerning both appeals is yet to be taken by the judges.
Source: The New York Times
