One of the big reasons why Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are the most searched celebrities of 2022 is because their defamation trial got an enormous amount of media attention. Judgment was reached on June 1, with Depp awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages (later reduced to $350,000), and Heard awarded $2 million in compensatory damages. Half a year after that legal event wrapped, the pieces seem to be snapping into place for another trial for Depp and Heard moving forward.
In early November, Johnny Depp’s legal team filed an appeal stating that Pirates of the Caribbean A star doesn’t have to shell out $2 million on his end. Amber Heard’s legal team has now filed its own brief in Virginia courts as of November 23. You can read the appeal submitted by Limit All for yourself, but to recap, Heard’s attorneys argue that Judge Benny Azcaret incorrectly instructed the jury in a Fairfax County, Virginia trial earlier this year that ended with Depp emerging as close to a “winner” as can be considered. The judge was also criticized in the memo for “excluding highly corroborative evidence and admitting irrelevant and biased evidence”.
As such, Amber Heard and her latest legal team are looking to appeal or overturn the verdict against her for a new trial. The memo also stated that “this case also should not have gone to trial because another court had already found that Depp mistreated Heard on several occasions”, referring to Depp’s unsuccessful 2020 defamation case in the UK against The Sun. For being classified as a “wife beater” in print. The excerpt mentioned below:
The jury’s verdict against Heard on all of Depp’s claims could not be reconciled with the jury’s verdict against Depp on Heard’s counterclaim. To find in Depp’s favor, the jury must have concluded that Depp did not mistreat Heard and that Heard knowingly lied in his accusation of abuse. But, to uphold Heard, the jury must have concluded that Heard told the truth about being a victim of domestic violence by Depp. Accordingly, the sentence against Heard could not be sustained.
Now that the legal teams of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have both filed their own appeals, Virginia law says that a group of judges will come together to decide the merits of those appeals. It is unclear how long this will last, but both sides may end up taking the matter to the Commonwealth Supreme Court. If that happens, we could be looking at years until this legal saga is truly settled.
So as we wrap up 2022, there is a possibility that Johnny Depp and Amber Heard could continue to grab the headlines with another experiment starting in 2023 and possibly beyond. Obviously, we’ll keep you updated on what’s happening on that front, as well as any major legal dramas associated with these actors, such as the counterclaim that was filed against her insurance company. Next year, Depp will see the role of King Louis XV in No favorite And I heard Mira’s repeat Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
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