New York, USA (CNN)– Lawyers for American actress Amber Heard have asked the court to overturn the libel ruling with ex-husband Johnny Depp, either by dismissing the case or ordering a new trial.
In appeal documents filed and dated July 1 in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Virginia, Heard’s attorneys claimed that the damages awarded to Depp were excessive and unsubstantiated at trial. They also accused Depp of relying on “valid and judicially privileged statements as a basis to discredit him through insinuation allegations.”
Heard’s lawyers argue that they were incorrectly prevented from suggesting that Depp lost his defamation case once morest the publisher of Britain’s Sun newspaper in 2020, as his claim that he was an abusive husband sparked a courtroom confrontation between the former couple.
Heard’s lawyers also claim that Depp and his team were unable to establish any financial or actual damages to his reputation as a result of Heard’s opinion piece in the Washington Post, and argue that Depp did not meet the legal requirements to demonstrate actual “hate” as evidence to support Heard’s belief that she was a “victim of abuse.” by Mr. Deeb.
CNN has reached out to Johnny Depp’s attorney for comment, but no response at the time of writing.
