Johnny Depp REFUSES to pay Amber Heard $2M awarded to her in trial, argues verdict was 'erroneous'
HOLLYWOOD HILLS, CALIFORNIA: Johnny Depp wants complete triumph over Amber Heard. The actor, 59, has filed an appeal in court, claiming the jury erred by ordering him to pay his ex-wife $2 million on a single count of defamation. In the landmark trial, it was found that Heard had defamed Depp and was ordered to pay $10.35 million to the actor. However, Depp was also asked to pay her $2 million after the actor's lawyer made defamatory remarks against her.
Depp claimed in documents submitted to the Virginia Court on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, that the jury's decision for him to pay $2 million to Heard was incorrect. The actor was asked to pay the amount after Adam Waldman, one of Depp's attorneys, was accused of defaming Heard by telling a media outlet that she had lied about a blowout argument that led to the couple's divorce, as per reported by TMZ. Heard has also appealed the court's ruling against her. Depp was ordered to pay $2 million to Heard, while the latter was asked to pay $10.35 million to the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor in damages. Due to both appeals, the payments are now on hold.
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“The judgment in Ms Heard’s favor on that lone statement is erroneous,” Depp’s filing read, according to the New York Post. Depp argued in the appeal that Waldman made those comments, not him and that he shouldn't be held accountable for it. The actor further went on to say that Heard's team failed to show Waldman's malice in making those remarks, which is required to win a defamation action.
“As a matter of law, Mr Waldman is an independent contractor, whose allegedly tortious conduct is not automatically attributable to Mr Depp,” the filing read.
The actor's lawyers further said that his ex-wife's claim was "fatally flawed" and his motion to strike down proof amid the trial should have been granted.
“The jury’s emphatic favorable verdict on all three defamatory statements alleged in his complaint fully vindicated Mr Depp and restored his reputation,” the appeal filing further read, adding, "Indeed, Mr Depp prevailed in the trial court on virtually all material issues, and the verdict of the jury and judgment of the trial court represent an intelligent and well-reasoned decision on the merits after a full and fair trial and should be largely (though not entirely) affirmed."
The filing further read, “However, the trial court was confronted with a number of novel and complex legal and factual issues, and although the trial court decided the vast majority of those issues sensibly and correctly, a few rulings were erroneous.”
The actor was asked to pay $2 million compensation to Heard as Waldman had said, "So Amber and her friends spilled a little wine and roughed the place up, got their stories straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist, and then placed a second call to 911."
MEAWW previously reported, Heard has decided to reside in Spain after playing a crucial role in one of Hollywood's biggest legal battles which took place in a Virginia court. According to reports, the actress left the US as she didn't want to become a "toast in Hollywood," where everyone is supporting her ex-husband Johnny Depp. Heard, her one-year-old daughter Oonagh Paige Heard, and her alleged girlfriend Bianca Butti are reportedly residing in the European country.
According to rumors, the 'Aquaman' actress has no intentions to travel back to the US as Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne, and Kristen Stewart, in addition to Depp's friends and admirers, have abandoned her. The mother-of-one "knows she's toast in Hollywood since Johnny Depp's got the most powerful players lining up to cast him and the majority of A-listers firmly on his side," according to a source. “By moving somewhere like Spain, she hopes to reinvent herself, leave her money woes behind, and start fresh with her daughter. She can see herself living in Spain, where no one accuses her of being a conniving liar, but she won’t get away with trying to run from justice,” an insider reportedly added.