Aquaman actress Amber Heard’s legal team filed a motion to have the verdict of her blockbuster defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp thrown out and the case re-tried.
Lawyers representing Heard filed the motion on the grounds that the verdict that she had defamed Depp was not supported by evidence.
They also alleged that a juror had not been properly vetted, and questioned whether that juror was even supposed to be allowed on the jury.
In a 43-page memorandum, Heard’s lawyers argued that the verdict, and huge money in damages she now owes Depp should be tossed out on the grounds that during the trial, Depp proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false.
The motion also cast doubt on the validity of the jury selection process, pointing out a juror – identified as Juror 15 – whose birth year was listed as 1945 in court records.
The filing argued that Juror 15 ‘was clearly born later than 1945. Publicly available information demonstrates that he appears to have been born in 1970.’
The filing reads, “This discrepancy raises the question whether Juror 15 actually received a summons for jury duty and was properly vetted by the court to serve on the jury. It appears his identity could not have been verified.”
If you would recall, Amber Heard has said that she is unable to pay the huge sum in damages she owes Johnny Depp.
Though she has previously indicated that she wants to appeal the verdict, and to do so she would need to post bond of the full damages.
It is likely that this latest motion was an attempt part to evade those requirements and still try for a new verdict.
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