The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star makes his move just one day after his ex-wife officially filed notice to appeal the defamation case against him despite being denied for a new trial.
- Jul 23, 2022
AceShowbiz - Johnny Depp has filed an appeal against the $2 million defamation compensation awarded to Amber Heard. Just one day after his ex-wife officially filed to appeal her defamation case against him, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor lodged the legal documents.
The papers, which was obtained by Entertainment Tonight on Friday, July 22, were said to be filed by Depp's legal team in Fairfax County, Virginia. Although the 59-year-old actor was being awarded $10 million in damaged and $5 million in punitive damages after his six-week trial against Heard, his ex was also awarded $2 million in compensation.
A source close to Depp told Entertainment Tonight "this was an overwhelmingly positive verdict for Mr. Depp" and the "verdict speaks for itself." The source added the "Ed Wood" actor "believes that this is a time for both parties to move on with their lives and heal," but they added, "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 relevant legal issues are considered by the Court of Appeal."
Following Heard's notice of appeal on Thursday, July 21, a spokesperson for the "Aquaman" actress said, "We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment. We are therefore appealing the verdict. While we realize today's filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice."
Heard's appeal came despite her being denied a request for a new trial. Depp's representatives have repeated they are confident the ruling she must pay out would not be reversed.
During an interview in June on "Good Morning America", a lawyer for Depp suggested the actor might be willing to forgo the multi-million dollar damages award if Heard agreed not to go ahead with an appeal. The actress' lawyers lost the chance during a June 24 hearing when they declined to make the agreement and Judge Penny Azcarate finalized the verdict, leaving Heard's only way forward an appeal.
