Depp to proceed with USD 50 Million defamation lawsuit against Heard
Hollywood star Johnny Depp scored a win over ex-wife Amber Heard as a judge granted him permission to proceed with his two-year-old defamation lawsuit. A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that the case will not be dismissed, and scrapped Heard's motion to reject the suit instead.
This is the 'Aquaman' star's third such motion since Depp filed his lawsuit in March 2019, citing various grounds, including the ruling of her UK libel verdict.
The 58-year-old actor first filed the defamation lawsuit against Heard back in 2018 after she published an op-ed in the Washington Post where she wrote about 'surviving domestic abuse'. Although she never specifically named Johnny, she has openly accused him of domestic violence since their split.
Johnny Depp claims Hollywood is boycotting him in first interview since libel case; calls it 'absurdity of media mathematics'
According to a report on USA Today, the Judge concluded that the two cases (libel and defamation) were not the same citing that Heard was not a party in the London lawsuit, although she was a witness for The Sun, thus her argument for dismissal failed.
"[Heard] argues she was in privity with The Sun because they both had the same interest in the case. However, for privity to exist, [Heard's] interest in the case must be so identical with The Sun's interest such that The Sun's representation of its interest is also a representation of [Heard's] legal right," Fairfax County Chief Judge Penney Azcarate wrote in her ruling.
'Aquaman 2' producer opens about not removing Amber Heard from film "The Sun's interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false. [Heard's] interests relate to whether the statements she published were false," read the statement.
In her ruling, the judge also said, "Defendant's claim that refusing to recognize the U.K. Judgment, in this case, would set a dangerous precedent is unfounded. If anything, upholding English libel judgments in the United States would create a chilling effect and could create a dangerous precedent. Accordingly, this Court is unpersuaded by Defendant's argument."
The decision marks a major victory for Depp in his ongoing battle with Heard, which began in 2016 during their divorce in California and has now outlasted their brief marriage. Mads Mikkelsen would have 'loved to have talked' to Johnny Depp about taking over Grindelwald role
"Mr. Depp is most gratified by the Court's decision," said Depp's lawyer, Benjamin Chew of Brown Rudnick in Washington D.C.
Johnny was in the news recently when he alleged that he was being boycotted by the Hollywood film industry after he lost his UK libel case against British tabloid The Sun, which called him a "wife-beater" in an article.
The court ruled that the publication proved the content of its article to be "substantially true," and the judge found that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred.
Johnny Depp seeks retrial against Amber Heard in 'wife beater' case; claims divorce settlement to charity was a "calculated lie"
Following the court's verdict, Depp, exited his leading role in Warner Bros' 'Fantastic Beasts' franchise, while MGM reportedly halted the US release of 'Minamata'.
