Jury awards millions of dollars to Johnny Depp in libel go well with; Amber Heard wins less in countersuit

Amber Heard was discovered chargeable for defaming Johnny Depp in an op-ed printed in the Washington Post, and Depp was discovered chargeable for an announcement his lawyer made to the Daily Mail calling her claims a hoax, a jury determined Wednesday. Jurors awarded Depp a complete of $15 million in damages and Heard $2 million. 

In an announcement posted on Twitter and Instagram Heard stated, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words.” Depp stated in an announcement posted to Instagram, “the jury gave me my life back.”

The verdict marked the top of a dramatic trial in the civil go well with that laid naked the troubled marriage between the celebs. 

Depp sued Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia for $50 million over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His legal professionals say he was defamed by the article though it by no means talked about his identify. 

Heard countersued for $100 million, claiming Depp’s lawyer defamed her by calling her abuse allegations a hoax. 

The jury notified Judge Penney Azcarate that they reached the decision early in the afternoon, however studying of the decision was delayed so they may fill in the quantity of financial awards on the jury type. 

While the jury discovered Depp ought to obtain $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, the choose stated state legislation caps punitive damages at $350,000, which means Depp’s award would whole $10.35 million.

CBS News authorized contributor Jessica Levinson stated the combined verdict signifies that the jury evaluated every of the six statements in isolation and took the claims of defamation rigorously.

“It wasn’t just a case of, ‘We like Johnny Depp, we don’t like Amber Heard,'” she stated, noting that Depp gained on all three statements in his go well with and Heard gained on one of the three in her counterclaim.

“I think the end of the day, the punchline is that the jury found they both lied,” Levinson stated.

In his assertion, Depp stated, “The goal of bringing this case was to reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome. Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained stedfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that.”

Heard, in her assertion, stated she is unhappy that that she lost the case, however “sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American — to speak freely and openly.” She stated the decision units again ladies and the remedy of home violence victims.

The jury started deliberations Friday afternoon, after six weeks of disturbing and generally graphic testimony. 

Both Depp and Heard testified twice. The jury additionally heard in depth recordings attorneys stated displayed violent habits and noticed textual content messages, together with between Depp and fellow actor Paul Bettany, that mentioned substance use and contained obscene language. 

Heard’s sister testified to seeing Depp strike her, and a pal testified about seeing her cuts and bruises.

Supermodel Kate Moss additionally appeared through video hyperlink, including to the spectacle as broadcast cameras in the courtroom captured each twist to an more and more rapt viewers as followers weighed in on social media and lined up in a single day for coveted courtroom seats. 

Closing arguments had been delivered Friday. By the time the courtroom broke for lunch, jurors had head from attorneys for each Depp and Heard — who then had a mixed 45 minutes to current rebuttal closings later Friday afternoon. The case went to the jury later in the day, for the ultimate stage in what has been six weeks of courtroom drama that peeled again the curtain on the celebs’ troubled marriage.

The jury was instructed to focus its deliberation not solely on whether or not there was abuse but in addition whether or not Heard’s op-ed piece will be thought of legally defamatory. The article itself focuses totally on coverage questions of home violence, however Depp’s lawyer level to two passages in the article, in addition to a web-based headline that they are saying defamed Depp.