(Fairfax) The judge presiding over Johnny Depp’s libel suit against his estranged wife Amber Heard on Tuesday dismissed a motion to quash filed by the actress’ lawyers.
Posted at 5:14 p.m.
After three weeks of litigation in court in Fairfax, near Washington, the lawyers for the 36-year-old actress had asked the judge, Penney Azcarate, to dismiss the complaint, considering that the star of the franchise Pirates of the Caribbean did not provide evidence of defamation.
“The court should accept this motion to quash because of the indisputable evidence that it was he, in fact, who assaulted Amber,” explained the actress’ lawyer, Ben Rottenborn, before calling his first witness.
Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Benjamin Chew, for his part asked the judge to dismiss the request saying that Amber Heard “is the aggressor in this courtroom”.
This request, common in the American legal system, is rarely granted.
Judge Azcarate considered that there were enough elements to continue the trial and leave the seven jurors the power to decide the outcome of the complaint.
Johnny Depp, 58, claims his ex-wife ruined his reputation and career after he penned a 2018 op-ed in the washington post, in which she described herself as a victim of domestic violence without, however, citing her former husband. He is seeking $50 million in damages.
The actor, who testified for four days, denies having ever raised a hand on his ex-wife, assuring that it was she who was violent.
Amber Heard has counterattacked and demanded 100 million dollars, claiming to have suffered “physical violence and assault” before and during their tumultuous marriage which lasted only two years, from 2015 to 2017.
She is expected to testify this week.
Specializing in accounting operations and the last witness called by Johnny Depp’s lawyers, Mike Spindler estimated on Tuesday that the actor had suffered a shortfall of approximately $40 million following the publication of the editorial, in particular by being excluded from the saga of Pirates in 2019 by Disney studios.
The star’s fees had exceeded 30 million dollars in 2017, his agent had estimated the day before.
In April 2018, the British tabloid The Sun accused Johnny Depp of being “an abusive husband”. The actor sued the newspaper and lost in a trial that exposed his drug and alcohol abuse.