Amber Heard will ‘absolutely’ appeal decision in defamation case says her lawyer (Evelyn Hockstein/AP)
(Picture: REUTERS)Amber Heard has filed an official appeal against the outcome of her multimillion-dollar libel case with her former husband, Johnny Depp.
Documents from her legal team, submitted to the Virginia Court of Appeals on Thursday, claim errors made during the trial prevented a “fair and just verdict”.
“We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment,” a spokesperson for the actress said, following 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.”
Earlier this month, Heard, 36, filed a motion stating to judge Penny Azcarate, that the verdict had not been based on evidence, and that the one juror had not been properly vetted.
Ms Azcarate rejected her legal request and said the issue surrounding the juror, was not relevant and could not be proved.
Depp, 59, sued his ex-wife for $50million in Fairfax County after Heard wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post about domestic violence, in which she referred to herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Although the article never mentioned Depp by name, his lawyers said several passages defamed him by implication.
Heard contersued her husband for $100m but lost the trial earlier this year.
Following the trial, the jury awarded $15million to Depp and $2million to Heard, although the claim was then reduced to $10.35million due to a cap on punitive damages in Virginia.
