The actress denounced, among other factors, an apparent case of a false identity of one of the jurors, according to her lawyers.
A Virginia judge on Wednesday denied actress Amber Heard’s request to overturn the verdict in a libel trial that awarded more than $ 10 million to her ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Depp won his libel suit against Heard last month in a civil lawsuit that generated widespread interest in the United States and abroad. Heard received lesser compensation, $ 2 million, in a lawsuit filed against Depp.
This month, Heard filed a motion asking for the verdict to be overturned or the sentence overruled. Her lawyers cited several factors, including an apparent false identity case by one of the jurors.
By written order, the judge Penney Azcarate he dismissed all of Heard’s claims, stating that the jury’s question was irrelevant and that Heard could not prove that it affected the trial.
“The juror passed, attended the trial, deliberated and reached a verdict. The only evidence before this court is that that juror and everyone else followed their court oaths, instructions and orders. This court is bound by the competent decision of the jury “. , wrote Azcarate.
Depp is suing for $ 50 million in Fairfax County after Heard ran an article in the paper. The Washington Post on domestic violence, in which he defined himself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”. The article never mentioned Depp by name, but his attorneys claimed that several passages of the text slandered him implicitly, referring to the well-known allegations of abuse made by Heard in 2016 when he filed for divorce.
Heard then filed a $ 100 million lawsuit, including for defamation. By the time the case went to trial, his request had been reduced to a few statements from one of Depp’s attorneys, who claimed Heard’s allegations were a hoax.
The jury awarded Depp $ 15 million and Heard $ 2 million for their request. Damages were reduced from $ 15 million to $ 10.35 million because Virginia law limits punitive damages to $ 350,000.
The judge did not come up with his arguments to dismiss Heard’s other allegations in his order on Wednesday.
Source: Terra
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