The former 'Fantastic Beasts' star first filed his $50 million suit against the 'Aquaman' star back in 2018, after she published an op-ed in the Washington Post about surviving domestic abuse.
- Aug 19, 2021
AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp is moving forward with his $50 million (£36.4 million) defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
The actor first filed his suit against the "Aquaman" star back in 2018, after she published an op-ed in the Washington Post about surviving domestic abuse.
Although Amber didn't named Johnny in the piece, she has accused him of domestic violence since their split.
And while she petitioned to have the case dismissed after Johnny lost his U.K. libel suit against The Sun newspaper, a Virginia judge has allowed Johnny to continue with his lawsuit, reports People.
"[Heard] argues she was in privity with The Sun because they both had the same interest in the case. However, for privity to exist, [Heard's] interest in the case must be so identical with The Sun's interest such that The Sun's representation of its interest is also a representation of [Heard's] legal right," Fairfax County Chief Judge Penney Azcarate wrote in her ruling on Tuesday, August 17.
"The Sun's interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false. [Heard's] interests relate to whether the statements she published were false."
She added that "the libel laws of Virginia are starkly different than those of England. The Declaration of Independence and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution represent major departures from the English Common Law with respect to freedom of speech and freedom of the press."
