Amber Heard vowed to appeal the jury’s decision in her ex-husband’s defamation lawsuit against her, and she’s making good on her word.Last month, a jury awarded Johnny Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The Pirates of the Caribbean star originally sued Amber after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018 claiming she’d been a victim of domestic abuse.Due to a Virginia statute capping punitive damages, Amber will only have to pay $10.35 million. Amber was simultaneously awarded $2 million in compensatory damages for her countersuit over comments Johnny’s lawyer made about her.However, Amber has now filed to appeal the jury’s verdict, claiming there was insufficient evidence to support their decision as well as ani ssue with one of the jurors.
Why Amber May Have To Pay Johnny Way More In The End
According to PEOPLE Magazine, Amber’s legal team submitted a 43-page filing to a Virginia court on Friday.
The documents reveal that Amber is specifically taking issue with Johnny’s claim that he missed out on a multi-million opportunity reprise his role as Jack Sparrow in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Her team argues that because she didn’t name Johnny in the op-ed, it cannot be argued he lost out on the role directly because of her.
"[Depp’s legal team] proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard's statements were actually false,” the documents argue.
Even more, Amber is claiming that one of the jurors wasn’t properly vetted. Despite claiming to be born in 1945, her lawyers argue Juror 15 is younger. "[The juror] was clearly born later than 1945,” they argue. “Publicly available information demonstrates that he appears to have been born in 1970.”
So far, Johnny’s team hasn’t publicly responded to Amber’s motion to appeal.
It was previously reported that Amber may have to pay way more to Johnny should she lose her attempt to overturn the decision.
Last week, a judge entered a stipulation should Amber choose to appeal the decision that states she’ll have to “post a bond in the full amount of Johnny's judgment PLUS 6% -- that's an additional $621k. Presumably, the 6% is an interest penalty for a delay in collection,” TMZ explains.
Amber’s lawyer previously stated the Aquaman actress can’t afford the million-dollar payout, adding, “One of the first things that she said is, ‘I am so sorry to all those women out there; this is a setback for all women in and outside of the courtroom."
Amber’s attempts to appeal remain ongoing.