Amber Heard loses defamation lawsuit to Johnny Depp as she’s ordered to pay him over $8million
Johnny Depp has gained a victory over his defamation case against Amber Heard and the jury bestowed him $15million. $10million in compensatory destructions and $5million in punitive damages.
The board of seven in Fairfax conceded to allot the Pirates of the Caribbean star actor an aggregate $15 million in damages after debating for about 13 hours.
By Ann Chigbufue
The judge, nevertheless, reduced the $5million punitive damages he could earn up to $350,000 because Virginia law caps punitive damages in these lawsuits at $350k.
Heard now owes Johnny Depp $8,350,000
Depp was not in court for the verdict as he was in the UK on tour with Jeff Beck, the famous guitar legend.
Nonetheless, Amber Heard was in court.
Heard gets $2million in compensatory losses out of the $100million she was seeking in her countersuit against her estranged husband. She was awarded zero dollars in punitive damages.
Amber, 36, alleged Depp physically and sexually abused her.
But Depp continually refuted the claims.
Over the course of the six-week trial, Depp’s lawyers went to lengths to prove that Depp, not Heard, was the victim of domestic abuse in their relationship.
Amber Heard said in a statement after the verdict:
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. 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 named the ruling a “setback” for other women, saying:
“It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
“I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
The actress won her second of three counts in her $100 million counterclaims against her ex-husband, with the jury discovering that Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman did defame her when he notified the Daily Mail she set up Depp in a ruse when the police came to their flat in May 2016, 7 years ago.
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