Johnny Depp’s legal team has responded to Amber Heard’s request for a mistrial, and they’re shutting down her accusations that the trial was biased.Earlier this month, Amber’s attorneys submitted a filing to appeal the jury’s verdict. Initially, they wanted the ruling completely overturned. Now, they’re requesting a mistrial and a new hearing. Her team argued that there’s no direct evidence Amber is the reason Johnny lost out on a multi-million-dollar opportunity to reprise his role as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
"[Depp’s legal team] proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard's statements were actually false,” the filing argued.
Additionally, Amber’s team argues that one of the jurors wasn’t properly vetted, and that the juror that showed up wasn’t the one summoned for jury duty.
What Johnny’s Team Has Said About Amber’s Accusations
Now, Johnny’s team has responded to argue that Amber hasn’t provided any sufficient evidence to support her desire to overturn the verdict. "Though understandably displeased with the outcome of trial, Ms. Heard has identified no legitimate basis to set aside in any respect the jury's decision," court documents reveal.
Johnny’s attorneys went on to refer to Amber’s post-trial motions as “frivolous and “baseless.” "The court should reject Ms. Heard's baseless contention that the damages award was excessive and supported by evidence," they argue.
The Alice in Wonderland star’s lawyers also argued that Amber’s team had “ample time” to vet the jurors while the trial was ongoing and suggest that waiting until after the verdict to bring up the issue with the juror’s information was a deliberate strategy.
"In a rare moment of candor, Ms. Heard admits that she was aware of this purported discrepancy in Juror 15's birth year from the very start of trial because 'Juror 15’ […] was clearly born later than 1945,” the document reveal. “Ms. Heard chose not to raise this alleged 'discrepancy' with the Court during the voir dire process or at any time during the six-week trial and thereby waived it."
Johnny was originally awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Amber was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages for her countersuit. Due to a Virginia statute capping compensatory damages, Amber will only have to pay $10.3 million in total to her ex-husband.
However, it was previously reported that Amber may have to pay way more to Johnny should she appeal the decision. It remains to be seen whether her request for mistrial is granted or not.
Sources: PEOPLE Magazine, E! News,
