Following Amber Heard’s loss in court during Johnny Depp’s high-profile defamation case versus his ex-wife, the actress and her legal team are remaining active in their pushback against the ruling. Last week, her team of lawyers singled out one juror on the trial and filed documents accusing him of getting himself fraudulently empaneled on the jury in an attempt to get the verdict of the case where she owes $10 million dropped. The judge has now responded to these claims.
Once again, the court did not rule in favor of Amber Heard. Per a report by Law and Crime’s correspondent Angenette Levy, Judge Penney Azcarate has denied all the Aquaman actress’ post-trial motions including her recent claim regarding Juror 15.
Amber Heard’s legal team suggested that Juror 15 took the summons from his father, who he shares the same name as and lives with, and fraudulently empaneled on the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard case. However, as the judge’s response notes, because the summons did not include a birth date, either the father or son could have shown up for jury service.
It was ruled by the judge that Juror 15 completed the Jury Questionnaire as himself filing his proper birth date, which Heard’s team had questioned prior, thus meeting the statutory requirements for service and not being fraudulent after all. Johnny Depp’s legal team previously responded to the claim, calling out Heard and her team for bringing this to the attention of the judge following her loss rather than during the trial.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard publicly presented their arguments regarding claims of defamation from both sides from April 12 to June 1. The verdict ruled that Heard was guilty of defamation on three counts, rewarding Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Heard’s countersuit found Depp guilty of one count, awarding her $2 million in compensatory damages. The Aquaman 2 actress will only have to pay $10.35 million total because of Virginia law capping punitive damages.
This week, it was also reported that Amber Heard is being sued by The New York Marine and General Insurance Company in hopes to absolve itself from paying for the star’s defense in her defamation case against Johnny Depp and any further litigation expenses connected to an appeal. As these developments continue to take place, NBC News is set to air a 30-minute documentary about social media’s influence on how the public perceived the trial tonight at 10:30 ET.
As far as Johnny Depp’s legal whereabouts after coming out on top of the defamation case, he has resolved another case, an assault and battery case against him, with a settlement being reached and City of Lies location manager Gregg “Rocky” Brooks dropping the 2018 lawsuit itself. We’ll keep you updated on Depp and Heard and how it might affect their upcoming movies as well.
