The defamation trial between actors and former lovers Johnny Depp and Amber Heard may be getting a sequel in 2023.
Following Depp’s filing to prevent a $2 million payment to Heard in November, her lawyers have now filed an appeal to have the verdict thrown out.
“The resulting jury verdict against Heard on all of Depp’s claims cannot be reconciled with the jury verdict against Depp on Heard’s counterclaim. To find in favor of Depp, the jury must have concluded that Depp did not abuse Heard and that Heard knowingly lied in accusing him of abuse. But, to find in favor of Heard, the jury must have concluded that Heard told the truth about being a victim of domestic abuse by Depp. Accordingly, the verdict against Heard cannot stand,” court documents stated.
The request for a reversal of the jury’s decision made last June could mean a new trial.
BOB MCGRATH DEAD: ICONIC SESAME STREET CAST MEMBER DIES AT 90
Heard’s lawyers also argue that the case should not have been held in northern Virginia.
“Instead of suing Heard in California, where both parties lived and where Depp claimed to have suffered reputational harm, Depp sued in Virginia, a wholly inconvenient forum with no connection to Depp or any meaningful connection to his claims. The trial court erroneously refused to dismiss this action on the ground of forum non conveniens, based on its mistaken conclusion that Depp’s claims arose in Virginia because the Washington Post’s servers are located here.”
The defamation trial that captured international attention was centered on an op-ed Heard wrote for the Washington Post in which she detailed claims of domestic violence.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
If there is a new trial, Heard will not have the same lawyers representing her. Last August, she fired Elaine Bredehoft.
