Washington [US] Hollywood actor Amber Heard filed a notice of appeal on Thursday of the USD 10 million defamation verdict that a Virginia jury presented to her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
According to Variety, Heard’s legal professionals had announced they would appeal without delay after the jury discovered on June 1 that she had defamed Depp by using publishing an op-ed inside the Washington Post wherein she defined herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” The jury held that the statement was false and was made with “actual malice.”
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment,” Heard’s spokesperson said on Thursday.
They added, “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 -paragraph word does now not spell out the grounds for Heard’s appeal. In response, Depp’s representative said his team stays confident the decision may be upheld. “We continue to be assured in our case and that this verdict will stand,” his spokesperson stated.
The jury presented Depp USD 15 million in damages but Heard had to pay USD 10.35 million because of a Virginia law limiting punitive damages (the judge decreased the amount). In her countersuit, Heard won one of the 3 defamation counts and became provided USD 2 million in damages.
Heard’s attorneys had previously requested Judge Penney Azcarate to set apart the verdict for numerous reasons, together with the allegation that one of the jurors confirmed up to the trial notwithstanding by no means receiving a summons.
As consistent with Variety, Azcarate denied Heard’s request, locating that she had waited too lengthy to elevate her objection and had no longer proven she became denied a truthful trial.
