Johnny Depp and Amber Heard to battle it out in court again? Just when everybody thought the two celebs moved on with their lives, Amber has decided to open the case again.
The 36 year old actress has officially filed to appeal the verdict in her defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp, which ordered her to pay him $10 million in damages. Heard’s attorneys have filed the ‘notice of intent to appeal’ in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Thursday, as per the court’s records.
Amber Heard Releases Statement
After the actress officially appealed the verdict, her representative released a statement 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.”
“While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice,” the statement continued.
Heard’s attorneys had revealed her plans to appeal just a day after the verdict came on June 1. In an interview, her lawyer had said that the actress could ‘absolutely not’ afford to pay the damages. She also claimed that Heard had racked up $6 million in legal fees of the trial.
Johnny Depp’s side, however, remains confident in their case. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s representative said in a statement, “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,” the statement further read.
Heard Claimed Mistrial Last Week
The appeal came in the wake of last week’s events when Heard’s legal team had claimed that the actress was entitled to a mistrial ‘based on newly discovered facts and information.’ They had said that one of the jurors present in the court was not actually the one summoned to be on the jury.
Heard’s side claimed that a jury member, aged 77, was summoned, but instead, a person aged 52 with the same last name and address showed up and joined the jury. The lawyers said that the actress was not given the ‘due process,’ so she requested a fresh trial.
However, Judge Penney Azcarate denied the request stating that no evidence of fraud was found among the jury.
Depp had Won the Lawsuit after 6-week Trial
Johnny Depp won the defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife in the beginning of June, following six weeks of highly-publicized trial, which revealed shocking details of the couple’s troubled relationship to the public.
Depp was awarded $10 million in damages that came with a 6 percent annual interest. After winning the case, the actor’s attorney had said that the lawsuit was not about the money but about restoring the actor’s reputation back.
Amber had called the verdict a setback to women and said, “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband. I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.”
What do you think about Amber appealing the verdict in court? Let us know in the comments section.
