Johnny Depp is appealing the ruling ordering him to pay $2 million to ex-wife Amber Heard over a defamatory comment made by his lawyers.
Bringing the high-profile Heard-Depp trial to an end earlier this year, the jury ruled Heard should pay the Pirates of the Caribbean star $10.35 million for defaming him in her Washington Post op-ed.
Meanwhile, Depp was ordered to pay Heard $2 million after one of his lawyers, Adam Waldman, issued a defamatory statement in which he accused Heard and her friends of trashing their apartment only to put the blame on Depp.
“The judgment in Ms. Heard’s favor on that lone statement is erroneous,” the actor’s attorneys wrote in the appeal, an excerpt posted by Law and Crime reveals.
Explaining the reason behind the appeal, they went on to claim that Depp should not be held liable for the statements made by his attorney because they do not align with beliefs and thoughts of the actor.
“As a matter of law, Mr. Waldman is an independent contractor, whose allegedly tortious conduct is not automatically attributable to Mr. Depp,” the appeal reads.
“The jury found that Ms. Heard defamed Mr. Depp in the Op-Ed and awarded Mr. Depp $10 million in compensatory and $5 million in punitive damages.
“On the Counterclaim, the jury found in Mr. Depp’s favor on two of three Waldman Statements, but in favor of Ms. Heard on the third Waldman Statement. That is the only statement at issue in this appeal.”
The court filing adds: “The jury’s emphatic favorable verdict on all three defamatory statements alleged in his complaint fully vindicated Mr. Depp and restored his reputation.”
Depp’s appeal comes shortly after Heard filed a 16-point appeal in which she called for a mistrial and accused her ex-husband of swaying the jury to his side.
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