Amber Heard the ‘Drama Queen’ appeals for new defamation trial after losing case to Johnny Depp

In a recent turn of events, Amber Heard has appealed for a new defamation trial against her ex-husband Johnny Depp. This arrives almost after five months after the verdict. She has declared that the previous legal battle in Virginia court, where she lost to the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, was held in incorrect shape. The appeal filed by Amber’s lawyers Jay Ward Brown and David L. Axelrod has also further mentioned that the decision will have a “chilling effect” on women who want to stand and speak up against abuse by powerful men.

According to Deadline, the fresh appeal submitted by Amber Heard’s lawyers Jay Ward Brown and David L. Axelrod at the court reads, “The trial court erroneously refused to dismiss this action on the ground of forum non conveniens, based on its mistaken conclusion that Depp’s claims arose in Virginia because the Washington Post’s servers are located here. The trial court also erred in overruling Heard’s demurrer, in which she argued that the challenged statements are non-actionable expressions of opinion and are not reasonably capable of conveying the alleged defamatory implication.”

The 68-page record added, “That holding, if allowed to stand, undoubtedly will have a chilling effect on other women who wish to speak about abuse involving powerful men.” The appeal by Amber’s lawyers revealed several claims mentioning that the trial has taken place in the wrong format.

The application further stated, “This case also should never have gone to trial because another court had already concluded that Depp abused Heard on multiple occasions. After Depp filed this case, the United Kingdom High Court of Justice ruled in a separate defamation action brought by Depp that Heard’s abuse allegations were true.”

Heard’s lawyers also questioned the validity of the trials in Virginia

In the recent 68-page court documents, Heard’s lawyers argued that the exclusion of Heard’s “therapy notes”, in which she wrote about the abuse, led to an “unfair verdict”. Heard’s notes were ruled out during the trials at Fairfax County as hearsay by Virginia Court Judge Penney Azcarate.

The document dated November 23, read, “The trial court improperly prevented the jury from considering several separate instances in which Heard reported Depp’s abuse to a medical professional.”

Heard’s lawyers also questioned the relevance of the Virginia trials and wrote that “the case should never have gone to the trial because another court had already concluded that Depp abused Heard on multiple occasions”. Here Heard’s lawyers were alluding to the 2020 UK court ruling that favoured her.

Earlier it was reported that Depp has filed his own appeal claiming that the one count of defamation that Heard won at the trial was “erroneous”. A group of judges will now issue a ruling over both claims following which each side will have one more chance to appeal. The document submitted by Heard’s lawyer reads that the verdict will have “chilling effect on women trying to speak up against the powerful men.”