Judge Issues Order for Heard to Pay $10M

Johnny Depp owes actress $2M after trial
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2022 2:25 PM CDT
Updated Jun 24, 2022 4:25 PM CDT
Amber Heard's Attorney: She Can't Pay
Amber Heard reacts as the verdict is read in the courtroom in the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., Wednesday.   (Court TV via AP, Pool)

Update: The judge who presided over her defamation trial finalized the jury's award on Friday, issuing a written order for Amber Heard to pay Johnny Depp $10.35 million. After a hearing in Fairfax County, Virginia, Judge Penney Azcarate also ordered Depp to pay Heard $2 million, the AP reports. Lawyers for the actress have said she plans to appeal the verdict. In that case, the judge said, Heard would have to post a bond for the full $10.35 million while the appeal is being heard. Our story from June 2 follows:

The Amber Heard/Johnny Depp legal fight is apparently not over. Heard "absolutely" intends to appeal after a jury ordered her to pay more than $10 million in the high-profile defamation case, attorney Elaine Bredehoft tells the Today show. The same jury awarded Heard $2 million in a separate aspect of the case, leaving Heard to make up a gap of about $8 million. Asked if her client could pay the sum, Bredehoft replied, "Oh, no, absolutely not." Related:

  • Consequences: The verdict is a setback for women because it "said we're not going to believe women even when they have photos," Bredehoft tells CNN. "Basically, unless she had pulled out her phone, her iPhone, and videotaped him as he was beating her, she's not going to be believed, it didn't happen."

  • Atmosphere: The attorney described social media coverage of the case, bolstered by cameras in the courtroom, as "like the Roman Colosseum" and a "zoo." Sentiment appeared in favor of Depp, and Bredefort thinks it influenced the jury. "How can you not? They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media. We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There’s no way they couldn’t have been influenced by it."
  • Appeal: Bredefort said her client has "excellent grounds" for an appeal because "a number of things were allowed in this court that should not have been allowed, and it caused the jury to be confused." She said the suppression of Heard's medical records was a mistake because they showed “a pattern going all the way back to 2012 of Amber reporting this to her therapist.”
(More Amber Heard stories.)

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