Heard seeks to throw out verdict in Depp defamation trial

Amber Heard's lawyers have asked a judge to throw out the $10.35 million verdict against her in the defamation case filed by ex-husband Johnny Depp, arguing that the verdict was not supported by the evidence and that one of the jurors may not have been properly vetted by the court.

In post-trial motions filed Friday (1 JULY 2022), Heard's attorneys call the jury's June 1 award of $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages to Depp "excessive" and "indefensible." They ask the judge to set aside the verdict and dismiss Depp's lawsuit or order a new trial. Immediately after the verdict, the judge reduced the compensatory damages to $350,000 under a state cap.

Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."

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