As she challenges the decision from the Johnny Depp defamation trial in June 2022, Amber Heard‘s legal team will include a few additional members.
Heard took the appropriate action to formally appeal the judgment in Depp’s defamation case against her last month. The lawyers for the Aquaman actress reportedly informed the court that they intended to appeal the case in which a jury gave the Pirates of the Caribbean actor $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages on July 21, according to the court documents acquired by ET. The state’s statutory cap was later applied, lowering the punitive damages to $350,000.
Heard’s counterclaim resulted in a jury verdict of $2 million in compensatory damages but no punitive damages. After Depp’s attorney referred to Heard’s assertions as a “hoax,” the jury decided that Depp was responsible. Depp has since appealed that decision as well.
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Heard’s principal appellate attorneys will now be David L. Axelrod and Jay Ward Brown of Ballard Spahr. Notably, the attorneys successfully defended The New York Times in a prior defamation case brought by Sarah Palin.
Axelrod and Brown said in a joint statement, “We welcome the opportunity to represent Ms. Heard in this appeal as it is a case with significant First Amendment consequences for every American.” We have faith that the appellate court will uphold the fundamental principles of free speech, reverse the ruling against Ms. Heard, and apply the law correctly without regard to public opinion.
Republican Sarah Palin filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times after an editorial on June 14, 2017, and Axelrod and Brown represented the newspaper in the successful legal battle. The political action group of an ex-GOP vice presidential candidate was initially linked by The New York Times to a 2011 mass shooting that left Rep. Gabby Giffords seriously injured and six people dead. A New York jury and the judge presiding over the case unanimously dismissed Palin’s legal claim on February 15.
Johnny Depp Is Looking to Change His Career While Amber Heard’s Appeal Is Still Being Made
Johnny Depp may be looking for a new job as he steps behind the camera to direct a new feature picture, while Heard is looking for a new legal team. The historical drama “Modigliani,” which is reportedly about the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, will be directed by Depp for the first time in twenty-five years, Variety said on Monday morning. Al Pacino, who starred in “House of Gucci,” and Barry Navidi will produce the movie.
Based on Dennis McIntyre’s play of the same name, the movie will be released. It narrates the tale of the painter and artist who was born in Italy and takes place in Paris in 916. Despite being “long considered by himself a critical and commercial failure,” Modigliani “navigates a chaotic and dramatic 48 hours that will constitute a turning point in his life, finally confirming his position as an artistic legend,” according to the movie’s press release.
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Depp stated in a statement, “I’m immensely honored and profoundly humbled to bring the drama of Mr. Modigliani’s life to the movie. It was a life marked by extreme adversity and eventual triumph—a universally human story that all viewers can relate to.
There is no set release date for the project, but it appears that Johnny Depp’s career hasn’t been negatively impacted by Amber Heard’s op-ed after all given his impending film roles and musical collaborations with Jeff Beck.
