Amber Heard officially files to appeal Johnny Depp defamation verdict

21 July 2022, 22:20

Amber Heard has filed an official notice to the Virginia Court of Appeals to appeal against the outcome of her multimillion-dollar defamation case with Johnny Depp.

Documents submitted by the Aquaman star's legal team on Thursday claimed that errors made during the trial had prevented a "just and fair verdict" from being returned.

It comes shortly after Judge Penney Azcarate, who oversaw the six-week trial at Fairfax County District Court, dismissed Ms Heard's claims of improper juror service.

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"We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment," a spokesperson for the actress said, following the filing's submission.

"We are therefore appealing the verdict.

"While we realise today's filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice."

Ms Heard's legal team had previously claimed that "newly discovered facts and information" about the juror meant that a mistrial ought to be declared.

Lawyers said that one of the individuals originally summoned to serve in the trial had not appeared and had been replaced by someone else.

They also argued previously that the decision returned on June 1 in favour of Mr Depp was not supported by the evidence presented during the six-week trial.

But Judge Azcarate said the juror issue was irrelevant and that Ms Heard could not show she had been prejudiced.

Mr Depp sued his former partner over a 2018 article she wrote for The Washington Post about her experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse, which his lawyers said falsely accused him of being an abuser.