Amber Heard sells Californian home after losing court battle against Jonny Depp
1 August 2022, 09:29
Amber Heard is selling her beloved Californian home for $1.5million as she battles to pay a $8million bill following her court battle with Jonny Depp.
This comes as unsealed court documents the Aquaman star, 36, walked away from a divorce payout that could have run to tens-of-millions.
Documents seen by the Daily Beast show Heard's lawyers advised her that she could have got half the $33million Depp was paid filming the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean as this made when they were still together but she ignored their advice.
A judge refused to let that evidence be admitted during Depp's defamation lawsuit against Heard.
Read More: Amber Heard appeals against Johnny Depp defamation verdict
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Heard was ordered to pay Depp a total of $8.3 million after being found guilty of defamation, but says she doesn't have enough cash to do so.
She may now have begun raising some of that cash by selling her Yucca Valley home in the California desert for $1.05million, a profit of about $500,000 for Heard, TMZ reported.
Heard allegedly bought the house in 2019 through an anonymous trust tied to the actress.
There is speculation about Heard's ability to immediately cover the damages, which includes $10million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. She will also receive $2million from Depp in a counter-lawsuit, leaving her with just over $8million to pay.
The latter amount was reduced from $5million due to Virginia's cap on such awards.
Last month Heard appealed against a judge's ruling that she needs to pay Depp $10million damages following their high-profile libel battle.
Heard was denied a request for a mistrial a week before - arguing that one of the jurors on the case shouldn't have been eligible to serve because his summons was intended for his father, who had the same name and lived at the same address.
In June, the Aquaman star was ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million at the end of an explosive six-week trial, when a jury ruled she had defamed her ex-husband in a newspaper opinion piece published in 2018.
