Johnny Depp files appeal against the single count of defamation against him that Amber Heard won
Topics: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Crime, US News, Celebrity
Rachel Lang
Featured Image Credit: Sipa US / Alamy. REUTERS / Alamy.
Topics: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Crime, US News, Celebrity
Johnny Depp is coming for Amber Heard's only counterclaim win after their highly-publicised defamation case in June.
The Aquaman star was awarded $2 million ($AUD 2.7 million, £1.6 million) in her countersuit against her ex-husband.
It was her only win for the day, with the judge finding in favour of Depp on all other counts.
However, that is apparently not enough for Depp as his legal team filing new documents to the Virginia Court of Appeals to argue that the verdict was 'erroneous' and should be overturned.
Advert
The court documents were published online and said that despite the 'emphatic favourable verdict' for Depp, 'the trial court was confronted with a number of novel and complex legal and factual issues'.
Depp's team, led by lawyer Benjamin Chew, added that 'although the trial court decided the vast majority of those issues sensibly and correctly' a few of the decisions made were 'erroneous'.
Lawyers for the Pirates of the Caribbean star filed the documents in the Virginia Court of Appeals on Wednesday (November 2) with lawyers revealing why Depp should not have to fork out for comments made by his attorney which led to Heard's successful counterclaim.
Update: Johnny Depp v amber heard (appeals) attached is Johnny Depp’s appeal brief @aburkhartlaw @TheEmilyDBaker @ThatUmbrella @andysignore https://t.co/LYb4wC1FKY
— TheRealLauraB🌊⚔️ (@LauraBockov) November 3, 2022
The statement that Heard won was made by Depp's then-lawyer Adam Waldman to the Daily Mail, which was published back in April 2020.
Waldman claimed Heard and her friends set up Depp by calling police with 'hoax' abuse claims back in 2016.
The June 2022 jury found that Waldman was acting as an agent for Depp when making the comment.
Despite that finding, legal filings claim that: "Ms. Heard presented no evidence at trial that Mr. Depp was personally involved in directing or making any of the three Waldman Statements."
The appeal added: "Indeed, Mr. Depp testified that he had never even seen the Waldman Statements prior to the filing of the Counterclaim in August of 2020."
Depp's lawyers then called on the court to 'reverse the judgment' on Heard's counterclaim and asked the judge to rule in Depp's favour.
Depp, 58, sued ex-wife Heard, 36, for $50 million ($AUD 69.6 million, £38.2 million) in a defamation lawsuit over domestic abuse claims she made in a 2018 article in The Washington Post, and she issued a counterclaim for $100m ($AUD 139 million, £76.4 million).
The article did not mention Depp by name, yet his lawyers argued it falsely implied he physically and sexually abused the Aquaman actor while they were together.
The verdict comes after six weeks of evidence at Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court, which included testimony from both Depp and Heard, as well as supermodel Kate Moss.