Amber Heard lawyer: Appeal planned, client can’t pay damages to ex Johnny Depp

Despite the jury deciding that Amber Heard defamed ex-husband Johnny Depp, the case is apparently not fully closed.

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Heard is planning to appeal the jury’s decision that found her liable for defaming Depp in an opinion piece for The Washington Post.

Heard did not name Depp in the article, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft said an appeal will be filed.

“She has some excellent grounds for it,” Bredehoft told the “Today” show on Thursday. “We even had tried to get the U.K. judgment in to dismiss his case because he already had his shot. And that’s one of the issues. But also, a number of the evidentiary issues, there was so much evidence that did not come in.”

The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages, which were reduced by the judge to $350,000, the state’s legal limit. In the end, Depp was awarded a total of $10.4 million, E! News reported.

The jury found that Depp’s attorney defamed Heard and awarded her $2 million in compensatory damages, but no punitive damages in her $100 million countersuit against Depp, E! News reported.

Bredehoft also said that Heard is unable to pay the amount of damages she has been ordered to, “Today” reported.

>>Read: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard defamation suit: Jury finds Heard, Depp both liable

Heard had testified over the six-week trial that Depp physically and mentally abused her. Depp said Heard did the same to him.

But a court in the United Kingdom ruled against Depp in his libel lawsuit against the Sun, after the tabloid called him a “wife beater,” a case that Bredehoft cited as a reason why this week’s ruling was not correct.

“And the court found there, and we weren’t allowed to tell the jury this, but the court found that Mr. Depp had committed at least 12 acts of domestic violence, including sexual violence against Amber,” Bredehoft told “Today.” “So what did Depp’s team learn from this? Demonize Amber, and suppress the evidence.”

Heard released a statement after the jury’s decision was announced, writing, in part, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband.”

Depp also posted a statement to social media shortly after the verdict was read, writing, “False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career. And six years later, the jury gave me my life back.”

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