Even after the conclusion of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial, the drama is on. A few days earlier, the actress’ lawyers filed a motion to have the verdict, which favored Depp, tossed and requested for a new trial. They claimed that a juror served improperly in the trial.
Now, Depp’s lawyers have responded to the claims and asked the Virginia court to “reject Ms. Heard’s baseless contention”. Obviously, they want to keep the multi-million dollar verdict.
Read More: Amber Heard Urges Court To Toss The Verdict In Johnny Depp Defamation Trial
Johnny Depp’s Lawyers Call Amber Heard’s Jury Mix-Up Motion “Frivolous”
The basis of Amber Heard’s request for a mistrial is that the wrong person served on the jury. A 52-year-old man showed up in place of the 77-year-old man who was actually summoned. The two share the same name and address. But, Depps’ lawyers have claimed that it shouldn’t matter and that the verdict must stand. They asked the court to deny the ‘Aquaman’ actress’ “frivolous motion in its entirety and reject her outlandish requests to set aside the jury verdict.”
The filing read, “Ms. Heard’s desperate, after-the-fact demand for an investigation of Juror 15 based on a purported error in his birth date… is misplaced. As a threshold matter, Ms. Heard waived her right to challenge the accuracy of the information listed in the jury panel by failing to raise this objection contemporaneously.”
Depp’s attorneys said that Heard’s legal team was given a pre-panel jury list on April 6 which was five days before the jury was empaneled. They said that they “gave Ms. Heard ample time to verify the accuracy of the information contained therein.” Moreover, Heard’s lawyers haven’t been able to prove how the alleged juror mix-up compromised the case.
“Ms. Heard’s latest thesis, that a son served instead of his father, there would be no prejudice, as Juror 15 was qualified to serve as a juror in Fairfax County and was vetted during voir dire by the Court and the parties’ counsel, just as all of the other jurors were,” the document added.
Amber Heard Pushes For Mistrial
The case that began in April concluded in June wherein the jury declared that Heard defamed Depp with her 2013 Washington Post op-ed in which she claimed to be a domestic violence survivor. He was awarded $15 million in damages, which got reduced to $10.35 in accordance with state law. Heard’s countersuit fetched her $2 million in compensatory damages.
The legal document filed by Heard’s team about jury mix-up read, “Based on newly discovered facts and information that Juror No. 15 was not the individual summoned for jury duty on April 11, 2022, and therefore was not part of the jury panel and could not have properly served on the jury at this trial. Therefore, a mistrial should be declared and a new trial ordered.”
While Heard and her lawyers have been vocal about wanting to appeal the verdict, she has to put up a $8.35 million bond before her appeal can even consider moving forward. Let’s see how things turn out now.
Read More: Johnny Depp Donates His $800,000 NFT Earnings To Charity Associated With Amber Heard
Read More: Camille Vasquez Is Receiving Offers From Hollywood And Law Firms After Johnny Depp Trial Win
