Amber Heard seeks to dismiss court verdict

Amber Heard has asked the Virginia court to set aside the verdict of the defamation case between her and Johnny Depp. The actress asked for the verdict to be dismissed, or for a new trial to take place.

Just over a month after losing the defamation trial, Amber's lawyers filed a motion for the verdict to be dismissed. According to reports, Amber's legal team said there is 'no evidence' to substantiate the USD 10 million in damages that the actress was ordered to pay. 

Depp had sued Amber for defaming him in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed, where she called herself a survivor of domestic violence. Amber countersued Depp, claiming that he had defamed her by calling her a liar. The trial lasted for six weeks and finally found Amber Heard guilty of defamation.

According to Court House News, in the court brief submitted by Amber's legal team, they argue that Depp's team "proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms Heard's statements were actually false." The brief also claimed that Amber was unaware of the headline of her 2018 op-ed. "Ms Heard never became aware of the headline until Mr Depp filed the lawsuit against her," the brief read.

The motion also questioned the damages awarded to Depp, saying that the amount is excessive. Amber was ordered to pay USD 10 million in compensatory damages, and USD 5 million in punitive damages. However, the judge reduced the compensation for punitive damages to USD 350,000. On the other hand, Johnny was ordered to pay Amber USD 2 million overall.

Court House News also reported that Johnny's legal team dismissed the appeal made by Amber's legal team.

Johnny and Amber married in 2015 but separated the following year. Their divorce was finalised in 2017.