Amber Heard Calls For New Trial Against Johnny Depp

The legal battle between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is not over just yet, as the Aquaman star's legal team are calling for a new trial.

In a 43-page filing to the Virginia court on Friday, 1 July, Heard's lawyer requested that the verdict made by jurors in the widely publicised defamation case either be overturned or dismissed, or that a new trial should go ahead.

Last month, the jury ruled in favour of Depp, ordering Heard to pay the Pirates of the Caribbean star $15 million in damages over domestic abuse claims she made in a 2018 op-ed for The Washington Post, which they agreed defamed Depp.

Alamy

The charges were later capped at $10.35 million by the judge and in a separate verdict Heard was awarded $2 million in damages via a counterclaim.

However, in the new filing Elaine Bredehoft argued that the sum Heard must pay is 'excessive as a matter of law, as there is no evidence to support the verdict'.

She also claimed that the damages to Depp were not due to the op-ed, as his legal team focused on events dating back to 2016.

Another section discusses the fact that The Washington Post article doesn't name the actor – an argument that was repeatedly made during the recent trial.

The arguments Bredehoft puts forward include the suggestion Depp isn't entitled to damages for any conduct prior to the op-ed, while it also suggests 'the verdicts on the complaint and counterclaim are inconsistent and therefore should be set aside', and that Depp 'did not present evidence of actual malice'.

Bredehoft concludes by stating: "Ms Heard respectfully requests this Court to set aside the jury verdict in favor of Mr Depp and against Ms Heard in its entirety, dismiss the Complaint, or in the alternative, order a new trial. 

"Ms Heard further requests this Court to investigate potential improper juror service and take appropriate action warranted by the results of the investigation."

Shortly after the verdict was made in early June, Heard's spokesperson Alafair Hall announced the plans to appeal in a statement to The New York Times, though it was not clear at the time what grounds she would base her appeal on.

Heard made clear she was not satisfied with the result of the trial in a statement released following the verdict, describing herself as 'disappointed' and arguing there was a 'mountain of evidence' to back up her claims.

"I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband," Heard wrote.

Depp's attorney, however, has dismissed the recent appeal, telling Courthouse News it was 'what we expected, just longer, no more substantive'.

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