Amber Heard has failed in court with her motion for annulment. Johnny Depp’s verdict in defamation trial stands.
Another defeat for Amber Heard (36): A judge in the US state of Virginia has rejected the actress’ request for annulment. The verdict in the Johnny Depp (59) defamation process remains in place, there will be no new process.
In the nullity motion, Heard’s attorneys alleged that a juror had not been properly screened. They therefore questioned whether he should have been appointed to the jury at all. In the court documents, the judge now states that Heard “does not allege” that said juror “in any way discriminated against her.” He was “reviewed, seated for the full jury, deliberated, and came to a verdict”. There is only one piece of evidence before the court – and that “that this juror and all jurors have followed their oath, the orders of the court and the orders”.
“No evidence of fraud or wrongdoing”
It goes on to say, “There is no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing.” Depp’s attorneys argued, among other things, that Heard and her team had access to the jury list before the trial. They had “more than enough time (…) before the trial began and during the six-week trial when at least two alternate jurors were available to examine and discover the alleged ‘new’ facts.”
The court now agrees: the list was made available to Amber Heard “five days before the start of the trial”. So you knew about the error before and during the process. Heard “had every opportunity to object”. However, a party cannot wait until it receives a judgment that is negative for it and then “for the first time to object to a matter that has been known since the beginning of the process”.
The verdict in the process
In early June, Depp won the defamation lawsuit against Heard after around six weeks of the trial. He sued her for $50 million for an article she published in the Washington Post in 2018. In it, she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. She did not mention her ex-husband by name. Depp nevertheless claimed the post ruined his career, damaged his reputation and cost him a lot of money.
The jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages, but Heard only has to pay $10.35 million under a Virginia law that limits punitive damages. Heard was also awarded $2 million in damages for her counterclaims against Depp.
Source: Stern
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