Amber Heard’s post-trial motions in the defamation case against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp have been denied
Judge Penny Azcarate has denied the motion to have the guilty verdict withdrawn against the “Aquaman” star – which includes $10 million in damages she must pay – and has blocked any attempt for a retrial in the case between her and “The Pirates of the Caribbean” star that ended in June.
Legal representatives for the 36-year-old actress filed the motion earlier this month as they argued that there was insufficient evidence for the jury to convict her of defamation against her 59-year-old former husband.
In addition, they argued that a juror did not meet the vetting requirements after a misunderstanding about their date of birth.
They argued that the result should be scrapped because Depp “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms Heard's statements were actually false”.
The decision was outlined in court documents seen by the Mail Online on Wednesday.
Ben Chew, a lawyer working for the Dior Sauvage model, who was found to have defamed her ex three times, said: “(It was) what we expected, just longer, no more substantive.”
Heard has previously stated that she is unable to afford the payment.
She argued that Depp “represented to the court he would limit his damages to the period December 18, 2018 through November 2, 2020”, referring to the time frame after the publication of her “Washington Post” opinion piece in which she described herself as someone who “became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out”.
A source close to the actress claims that she is “broke” and “not in a position to turn down money” after reports circulated she was in talks to pen a tell-all memoir.
The insider added that Heard “considers her career in Hollywood over” and “has nothing to lose”.