E-Paper
Johnny Depp's team argues against Amber Heard's request to dismiss verdict over juror's mistaken identity issue
Johnny Depp's lawyers have asked the court to not consider Amber Heard's request to set aside the verdict in his favour and to begin a new trial over the mistaken identity of a juror.
After Amber Heard's attorneys asked the Virgina judge to set aside the verdict in the defamation case and begin a fresh trial due to mistaken identity of one of the jurors, Johnny Depp's lawyers have urged the judge to not do the same. The verdict requires Amber to pay $10.35 million to Johnny over the 2018 op-ed piece she wrote in The Washington Post about domestic violence. Johnny has to pay $2 million to Amber on her counterclaim that she was defamed by one of his attorneys after he called her allegations a hoax. Also read: Johnny Depp seemingly takes digs at Amber Heard in new songs: 'Sitting there like a dog...'
AP reports that Johnny's lawyers say it's too late for Amber's team to object over the juror's identity. According to court papers, a summons went out to a 77-year-old man. But the man who responded in his place was his 52-year-old son, who has the same name and lives at the same address. Johnny's lawyers dispute arguments from Amber's team that the jury's verdict was nonsensical and unfounded. They also say that her team's complaints about the juror's identity are irrelevant.
Johnny's lawyers also argue that if her team had concerns, they should have spoken up at the time of the trial. AP further reports that judge Penney Azcarate has not yet indicated if she plans to hold a hearing to hear arguments on the motions to set aside the verdict.
Amber's lawyer Elaine Charlson Bredhoft has already hinted that the actor will not be able to pay a massive sum of $ 8 million to Johnny. On being asked about the same, Elaine told Today in an interview last month, "oh no, absolutely not". The Aquaman actor was also spotted shopping at a discount store.
Meanwhile, Johnny is all set to launch his new album with Jeff Beck. The lyrics of one of his songs seem to take a dig at Amber.
