Johnny Depp has won his defamation case against Amber Heard and the jury awarded him $15million. $10million in compensatory damages and $5million in punitive damages.
The panel of seven in Fairfax decided to award the Pirates of the Caribbean star a total of $15 million in damages after deliberating for about 13 hours. The judge, however, reduced the $5million punitive damages he could receive to $350,000 because Virginia law caps punitive damages in these cases at $350k.
Amber now owes Johnny Depp $8,350,000
Depp was not in court for the ruling as he was in the UK on tour with guitar legend Jeff Beck.
However, Amber Heard was in court.
Heard was awarded $2million in compensatory damages out of the $100million she was seeking in her countersuit against her ex-husband. She was awarded zero dollars in punitive damages.
Heard, 36, alleged Depp physically and sexually abused her.
But Depp repeatedly denied the claims.
Over the course of the six-week trial, Depp’s lawyers went to lengths to prove that Depp, not Heard, was the victim of domestic abuse in their relationship.
In a statement after the verdict, Amber Heard said: “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.”
Heard called the verdict a “setback” for other women, saying: “It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.”
She continued: “I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
The actress won her second of three counts in her $100 million counterclaims against her ex-husband. The jury found that Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman defamed her when he told the Daily Mail she set up Depp in a hoax when the police came to their apartment in May 2016.
