Johnny Depp filed Friday to appeal the $2 million judgment in his ex-wife Amber Heard’s countersuit against him.
It comes only one day after Amber Heard lodged an appeal.
Documents filed on Friday in Fairfax County read: “Plaintiff and counterclaim-defendant John C Depp, II, by counsel, hereby appeals to the Court of Appeals of Virginia from all adverse rulings and from the final judgment order of this Circuit Court entered on June 24, 2022.”.
On Thursday Ms Heard’s legal team submitted a notice that claimed errors made during the trial had prevented a “just and fair verdict” from being returned.
Heard’s appeal against Johnny Depp came came shortly after Judge Penney Azcarate, who oversaw the six-week trial at Fairfax county district court, dismissed her legal team’s claims of improper juror service.
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the first amendment,” a spokesperson for Heard said, after the filing’s submission.
“We are therefore appealing the verdict. While we realise today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
The Trial.
The trial had spanned over 6 weeks and became an international sensation. The trial was available to view from various different tv channels and youtube channels. It racked up millions of views.
Clips and commentary about the trial spread like wildfire on social media, with Amber Heard being largely vilified.
Depp initially sued Heard for $50 million for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote about experiencing domestic abuse. While Heard did not directly mention Depp in the article, his legal team successfully argued that it was clear it was about him.
Heard later countersued Depp for $100 million. This was over comments his lawyer made referring to her allegations of abuse as a hoax.
The jury ultimately decided Heard defamed Depp on all counts, and awarded him a $10.4 million judgment. Heard won a single part of her countersuit, getting a $2 million award.
The Johnny Depp appeal has been expected following Amber Heard’s appeal.
