Bad news for Amber Heard!
As we’ve previously reported, the Aquaman star’s legal team filed a motion to have the verdict from her defamation trial with Johnny Depp thrown out and to schedule a whole new trial! Why?
Well, the main reason was a shocking claim that one of the jurors was not supposed to be there at all! It was revealed in the legal filing that the jury duty summons was sent to the same residence where the two people with the same name, a father and son, had lived. Amber’s attorneys claimed the 77-year-old was meant to be on the jury, but the 52-year-old showed up instead as Juror #15! Therefore, they argued this was jury fraud — and that the whole judgment should be thrown out.
Related: Doja Cat Slammed For Mocking Amber’s Emotional Testimony From Defamation Trial!
Of course, Johnny fired back in a memorandum filed by his attorneys, arguing that Amber’s team knew all about the incorrect juror long before the trial started. They claimed:
“In a rare moment of candor, Ms. Heard admits that she was aware of the purported discrepancy in Juror 15’s birth year from the very start of trial because ‘Juror 15 …was clearly born later than 1945.’ Ms. Heard therefore concedes she had more than enough time before the trial started, and during the six-week trial, when at least two alternates were available, to investigate and discover the alleged ‘new’ facts. Clearly, Ms. Heard waived any right to allege ‘new’ facts she chose not to investigate for so long, much less to demand the extraordinary remedy of a mistrial.”
Now, it looks like the court has decided to side with the Pirates of the Caribbean alum once again. According to TMZ, the judge shut down Amber’s attempt for a new trial and ruled that no fraud went down. Their argument is that since the summons did not have a birth date on it, it’s reasonable for either the father or son to have taken it and appeared for the court case. The judge also agreed with Johnny’s team — pointing out the fact that the Aquaman star waited to file the motion until after she lost the trial instead of bringing it before or during the legal proceedings.
Ultimately, Amber was not able to show that the juror was prejudiced or did anything wrong either. The court documents state:
“The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict. The only evidence before this Court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the Court’s instructions, and orders. This Court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.”
And the blows do not end there…
On top of that, the judge also dismissed her argument that the $10 million compensatory damage award to Johnny was excessive. Oof!
While Amber could still appeal the verdict, her chances of doing so (and successfully) are pretty slim now. Her attorney Elaine Bredehoft previously shared with Today that the 36-year-old actress would not be able to shell out millions of dollars in damages to her ex-husband. As for why? A report soon came out that she is completely “broke” after years of legal fees and lavish spending. Yikes! So we’ll have to see what happens next for her legal battle with Johnny, but for now, it is not looking good for Amber!
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[Image via MEGA/WENN ]
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