Johnny Depp fires back at Amber Heard’s ‘desperate and outlandish’ bid for a retrial saying she has taken too long to lodge a challenge which came weeks after Pirates of the Caribbean star was awarded $10m
- Johnny Depp’s lawyers called Amber Heard’s attempt to get a retrial ‘desperate’
- Heard’s attorneys claim the wrong person served on the jury during the trial
- However Depp’s legal team said this would not have caused any prejudice to her
Amber Heard’s ‘desperate’ attempt for a retrial should not be allowed according to Johnny Depp’s lawyers.
Mr Depp’s legal team are urging a Virginia judge to leave his $10million defamation judgment intact after attorneys for his ex-wife called the jury’s verdict ‘nonsensical and unfounded’.
Heard’s lawyers asked the judge to set aside the verdict on multiple grounds, including an apparent case of mistaken identity with one of the jurors.
One of the claims is based on the fact that a 77-year-old man was summoned for jury duty – but a 52-year-old man, who shares the same last name and address, was improperly seated for the six-week trial.
Depp’s lawyers say that the Heard team’s complaints about the juror’s identity are irrelevant and would have caused no prejudice to the actress.
Johnny Depp’s (pictured in Germany last week) lawyers have said Amber Heard’s efforts to get a retrial are ‘desperate and outlandish’, as her legal team argues that a different person than summoned served on the jury
Amber Heard (pictured shopping in TJ Maxx) believe the fact that a 77-year-old man was summoned for jury duty but a 52-year-old man served, is grounds for a retrial
The opening page of Depp’s lawyers’ response to Heard’s claims
Last month, a civil jury in Fairfax awarded $10.35million to Depp after they found he was defamed by Heard when she wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post about domestic violence.
The jury also awarded $2million to Heard on her counterclaim that she was defamed by one of Depp’s attorneys after he called her allegations a hoax.
Heard’s lawyers filed motions earlier this month asking the judge to toss out the verdicts on a variety of legal theories.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s attorneys argued, ‘Ms. heard’s desperate, after-the-fact demand for an investigation of Juror 15 based on a purported error in his birth date is…misplaced…Moreover, Ms. Heard’s argument is based on pure speculation.’
In the conclusion, the lawyers at Brown Rudnick LLP wrote, ‘For all the reasons set forth above, Mr. Depp respectfully requests that this Court deny Ms. heard’s frivolous Motion in its entirety and reject her outlandish requests to set aside the jury verdict, dismiss the Complaint, or, in the alternative, order a new trial, and investigate Juror 15.’
Depp’s lawyers argue that if Heard’s team had concerns, they should have spoken up at the time because it was apparent that the man who served was not 77 years old, even though court paperwork described him as such.
Currently Amber Heard has to pay $10.35million to her ex-husband Johnny Depp for defamation
His legal team previously shot down other claims in Heard’s post-trial motion to toss the judgment, including arguments that the damages amount awarded to Depp were exorbitant and the verdict inconsistent.
The star’s attorney Ben Chew said: ‘While Ms. Heard slings an exceptional amount of mud at the wall in the hope that something might stick, the jury’s verdict on damages was perfectly reasonable and supported by the evidence and testimony in the case.
‘Though understandably displeased with the outcome of trial, Ms. Heard has identified no legitimate basis to set aside in any respect the jury’s decision.’
Judge Penney Azcarate has not yet indicated if she plans to hold a hearing to hear arguments on the motions to set aside the verdict.
The verdict in Depp’s favor in Virginia came about two years after a similar trial in the United Kingdom in which Depp sued a British tabloid after he was described as a ‘wife beater.’
The judge in that case ruled in the newspaper´s favor in 2020 after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse.
Jurors in the Virginia case were not told that the judge in the British case had ruled against Depp.
To read the full 36 page response from Johnny Depp’s lawyers click here.
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