Amber Heard to appeal against $10.35 million verdict in favour of ex-husband Johnny Depp: ‘We believe court made errors’
More than a month after a US court announced its verdict in favour of Johnny Depp.
In his defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, she has filed a notice to appeal against the judgement that directed her to pay $10.35 million to him. She was held responsible for defaming Johnny through her 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she described herself as a ‘public figure representing domestic abuse’.
Amber’s legal team submitted the appeal notice to the Virginia Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn the lower court’s June 1 ruling, reported Reuters. The agency quoted her spokesperson as saying, “We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment. We are therefore appealing the verdict.”
According to Variety, Johnny’s spokesperson said that they are confident the court will uphold the June 1 verdict. “The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp, in multiple instances. We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand,” his spokesperson said according to the portal.
On June 1, the jury ordered Amber to pay Johnny $10.35 million in damages. The jury also awarded Amber $2 million on her counterclaim. Recently, Amber’s attorneys asked the judge in the case to move aside the judgement and declare a mistrial over the mistaken identity of one of the jurors. But judge Penny Azcarate ruled that there was ‘no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing’ by the juror and that the jury’s verdict should stand.
Johnny and Amber had made various allegations against each other during their high-profile defamation trial, which made headlines across the globe. There were also alleged hate campaigns against Amber on social media, which a recent report claimed to be an “organised campaign of widespread targeted harassment”.