With Amber Heard filing an appeal to the verdict in her recent anti-defamation lawsuit against Johnny Depp, another round of legal proceedings looks to be in the works. The high profile couple’s continued court appearances are the latest chapter in the history of the Depp/Heard relationship. While Depp's team had already responded to the appeal, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star is now taken further action. Despite wanting to “move on,” Depp is filing his own appeal, for very specific reasons now disclosed by his legal team.
A representative from Team Depp issued a statement to The L.A. Times that expressed as much, further reinforcing the notion. However, when it comes to filing this appeal, Johnny Depp’s representation cited the following reasons as to why he’s decided to do so:
The verdict speaks for itself, and Mr. Depp believes that this a time for both parties to move on with their lives and heal. But if Ms. Heard is determined to pursue further litigation by appealing the verdict, Mr. Depp is filing a concurrent appeal to ensure that the full record and all legal issues are considered by the Court of Appeal.
Johnny Depp’s concurrent appeal contests the single $2 million award of compensatory damages Amber Heard was given. In the wake of the verdict for the Depp/Heard trial, the Aquaman star has made it clear that she would be appealing the result. Losing all but one claim, she is on the hook for $15 million in combined damages awarded to her former husband. While she and her team tried to overturn the verdict, their efforts were unsuccessful, leaving an appeal as the next course of action.
This isn’t the only legal hurdle that Amber Heard is facing at the moment. After the verdict in the Fairfax County defamation trial ruled against her, an insurance company filed suit against Amber Heard so that it could avoid paying out the judgement rendered. (The organization insured Heard from July 2018 to July 2019, during which time her Washington Post op-ed was published.) More importantly, New York Marine and General Insurance Company is trying to avoid paying any further legal expenses from the appeals process.
Now begins the process of getting the actress' appeal off the ground, which naturally could take some time. That may actually work in both of the stars' favors, as Johnny Depp’s schedule has seen him returning to performing both in music, and in his upcoming film La Favorite, which is also known in some reports as Jeanne de Barry. Not to mention, Amber Heard will have her duties promoting Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is set to hit theaters next year.
Once again, both parties are going to want to provide the best, and clearest defense of their viewpoints in court. Who knows what this next chapter will bring, both in terms of information revealed and the media circus that descends upon whatever venue this matter is heard in. All we can say is that Amber Heard and Johnny Depp are both confident in their cases, and its already shown where both sides lie on the issues to be re-litigated.
