Amber Heard Officially Files To Appeal Johnny Depp Verdict

Johnny Depp has responded after Amber Heard's legal team officially filed an appeal against the verdict of their defamation trial.

Court records show that Heard's lawyers officially filed a notice to appeal the original verdict in the trial today (21 July).

The trial centred on an op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post in 2018 where she described herself as 'a public figure representing domestic abuse'.

While the article did not directly mention Depp, his legal team successfully argued it was defamatory towards him as the jury ruled in his favour.

The judge awarded Depp $15 million in damages, later capped to $10.35 million, while Heard herself was also awarded $2 million in damages in a separate counterclaim.

Alamy

Depp's team have responded to news of the appeal being made official with confidence as they appeared sure that the original verdict of the trial would stand.

A spokesperson for Depp said: "The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp, in multiple instances.

"We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand."

News of the appeal will not have been a surprise to Depp's legal team as Heard made it clear last month that she intended to appeal the verdict.

For it to work her legal team will need to demonstrate there were errors either in the judge's reading of the law or in the trial itself, which Depp's lawyers seem confident will not be the case.

Alamy

A spokesperson for Heard released a statement on her behalf explaining the decision to appeal and critiquing the 'Twitter bonfires' they suspected would 'ignite' at news of the appeal being lodged.

They 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 realise today's filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice."

She will have to post the damages she has been ordered to pay as a bond, though Heard's lawyer has previously said she cannot afford to pay the $10.35 million in damages the court has ordered her to fork over to Depp.

Heard's team had earlier this month asked for a retrial, with her reasons for requesting one including the allegations that one of the jurors served on the jury in a case of mistaken identity.

However, Judge Penney Azcarate rejected the request for a retrial, saying that the juror in question was 'vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict'.

Responding to news that the chance of a retrial had been quashed, Depp's team called the attempts 'baseless' and 'frivolous'.