Amber Heard’s authorized workforce has requested that the decision from her defamation case towards Johnny Depp be overturned, or either side return to courtroom for a brand new trial.
In a 43-page memorandum filed on Friday, the Aquaman star’s attorneys have argued that there have been quite a few points with the June 1 ruling, together with extreme damages awarded to Depp and poor authorized reasoning.
One of many extra uncommon components raised within the Virginia courtroom submitting by Heard’s lead legal professional Elaine Bredehoft is an allegation that one juror is definitely 25 years youthful than he had initially claimed to be.
Singling the juror out by their quantity, the submitting said that: “Juror 15 had a delivery yr of 1945. Juror 15, nevertheless, was clearly born later than 1945. Publicly accessible info demonstrates that he seems to have been born in 1970.”
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“This discrepancy raises the questions whether or not Juror 15 truly obtained a summons for jury responsibility and was correctly vetted by the Courtroom to serve on the jury,” the submitting continued.
Per the movement, the courtroom clerk’s workplace is obligated to confirm the id of jurors, although on this case, “it seems his id couldn’t have been verified.”
The memo went on: “To the extent that the person who served as Juror 15 was not, in reality, the identical particular person on the venire [an entire panel from which a jury is drawn], or that the Courtroom Clerk’s workplace didn’t confirm his id, Ms. Heard’s due course of was compromised.
“The Virginia Code doesn’t ponder jury service by somebody not on the venire, for good cause… In any case, however particularly a high-profile case corresponding to this one, it’s essential to make sure no one that isn’t on the venire is ready to serve on the jury, whether or not by inadvertence or intention.
“Right here, the details present Juror 15 was many years youthful than the person on the jury panel listing, elevating questions as to whether or not they have been the identical or completely different individuals.
“Ms. Heard subsequently requests that the Courtroom examine whether or not Juror 15 was correctly a part of the venire and whether or not, previous to jury service, Juror 15 verified his info within the method prescribed by [Virginia Code].
“Ms. Heard additional requests this Courtroom to take acceptable motion based mostly upon the outcomes of the investigation, together with if acceptable, ordering a brand new trial.”
In April, Heard launched into a six-week courtroom battle with Depp, who had filed a $50 million lawsuit towards her over a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Put up, through which she stated she was a home abuse survivor.
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Throughout proceedings, Heard and Depp hurled a collection of accusations at each other, together with allegations of home violence—claims that every star vehemently denied throughout their respective testimonies.
On June 1, the jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, after discovering Heard’s declare to be false and defamatory. The choose adjusted the punitive damages to $350,000, as Virginia legislation limits the worth of punitive damages accessible.
Heard, who had countersued for $100 million, was awarded $2 million after it was discovered that Depp’s former legal professional, Adam Waldman, had made defamatory feedback about her.
The July 1 submitting on Heard’s behalf additionally questioned Depp’s claims towards his ex-wife “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication principle, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements have been truly false.”
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Bredehoft stated that Depp’s authorized workforce stated that it will heart on the time interval after Heard’s 2018 op-ed for the Put up was printed, although, in reality, it widened that window to incorporate statements and occasions from 2016.
The submitting concluded that Heard “respectfully requests this Courtroom to put aside the jury verdict in favor of Mr. Depp and towards Ms. Heard in its entirety, dismiss the Grievance, or within the different, order a brand new trial.
“Ms. Heard additional requests this Courtroom to research potential improper juror service and take acceptable motion warranted by the outcomes of the investigation.”
Reacting to the submitting, Ben Chew, who heads up Depp’s authorized workforce, instructed Courthouse Information Service in an e-mail that Heard’s movement was “what we anticipated, simply longer, no extra substantive.”
Depp misplaced his 2020 libel case towards British tabloid The Solar, which had labeled the actor a “spouse beater,” in reference to the home abuse allegations Heard had made towards him throughout their divorce proceedings in 2016.
Though Depp repeatedly denied ever having been violent to Heard in the course of the three-week trial in London, the overseeing choose discovered that the newspaper’s claims have been “considerably true.”