Amber Heard submitted seven post-trial requests to challenge the jury’s decision in the defamation dispute she had with her ex-husband Johnny Depp, but the court in Virginia rejected all of them.
A jury awarded $15 million in damages to Depp in his defamation action after a trial that lasted many weeks, but only $2 million to Heard.
In their request for a new trial, Heard’s attorneys said that the jury panel list supplied to counsel before to the trial did not appear to match the demographics of one of the jurors, which violated Heard’s right to due process.
In the court judgment submitted on Wednesday, Judge Penney Azcarate stated that Heard’s rights to due process were unaffected because there was no fraud or malfeasance in the jury selection procedure.
“The juror underwent screening, served on the jury as a whole, deliberated, and rendered a decision. The fact that this juror and all other jurors adhered to their oaths, the Court’s instructions, and its orders is the only evidence in front of the court. The jury’s competent decision is binding on this Court “Written by Judge Azcarate.
Azcarate continued that if Heard’s defense team had a problem with the jury selection procedure, they ought to have brought it up during the protracted trial.
The order provides that “a party cannot wait until getting an unfavorable result to object for the first time on an issue known since the outset of trial.”
Before the judge’s decision, Depp’s attorneys issued a rebuttal document to Heard’s post-trial petitions, calling the legal arguments ridiculous.
“While Ms. Heard tosses an extraordinary quantity of mud against the wall in the hope that anything would stick,” Depp’s memo wrote, “the jury’s finding on damages was absolutely fair and supported by the evidence and testimony in this case.”
Representatives for both Depp and Heard declined to comment more on the judge’s ruling when reached by CNN.
The judgment is currently being appealed by Heard.
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