In the wallet battle with her ex-husband Johnny Depp, Amber Heard is the clear second winner. It’s not even remotely as fluid as its opponent, the victorious pirate of Hollywood fees. According to US media reports, the “Aquaman” actress cannot pay the outstanding $10.4 million in “damages” for the time being. As is well known, this cross-calculated sum was the pecuniary end point after the verdict in the spectacular defamation lawsuit in Fairfax/Virginia.
And so, according to the motto: “After the trial is before the trial”, there is a lot to be said for extending the rough spectacle. Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft announced on NBC’s “Today” news program that her client “absolutely” wants to appeal the verdict announced last Wednesday. For the jury, it was a matter of complex considerations: freedom of speech, intent or damage to reputation were just as much on the agenda as the credibility of the actress and the mutual allegations of abuse. The lawyer spoke on television of “some excellent reasons” for it.
A challenge to the sentence would give Amber Heard a breath of fresh air. Also and especially in financial terms.
Now, an expert survey by the American news magazine “Time” among legal experts produced a rather inconsistent assessment of the chances of a new edition. Basically, respondents assume that Heard’s team will argue that a legal error was made during the process. They will attempt to overturn the verdict on the grounds that the jury was influenced by things they saw and heard outside the courtroom.
The jury seemed to find Depp’s story more believable. Appellate courts, in turn, tend to review jury verdicts on credibility, even when the jury’s overall conclusion appears contradictory.
Whatever Heard’s team decides, an appellate court won’t be returning a verdict any time soon. “It’s going to be a long, expensive process,” David Ring, a Los Angeles civil litigation attorney, told The Time. He and other experts estimate the appeal will take at least two years. “Anyone who files an appeal has a tough time at first,” said Rebekah Sullivan, a Washington, DC-based family law attorney
Other colleagues are speculating that this action will cost Heard hundreds of thousands of dollars in addition to legal fees already paid. Some sources spoke of a total of six million dollars. When she divorced Depp in 2016/2017, she was awarded seven million dollars. She wanted to donate it in full. But in the course of the renewed quarrels, the financial ceiling quickly became too short for them.
LA Attorney Ring concluded, “When you’re faced with a tens of millions dollar verdict, that’s probably how you’re going to have to pursue it.”
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