Amber Heard’s lawyer says the actress is seeking to have a judge throw out the $10.35 million verdict in the defamation trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp, according to The Associated Press.
In a post-trial motion filed Friday, Heard’s attorneys said the $10 million award in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages to Depp was “excessive” and “indefensible.”
Heard wants the judge to set aside the verdict and dismiss Depp’s lawsuit or order a new trial.
Depp sued Heard for libel over an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post. The opinion piece claimed Heard was a victim of domestic abuse, although it did not name Depp as her alleged abuser.
Heard’s lawyers also ask the judge to investigate “potential improper juror service,” according to the AP. The motion alleges that one of the jurors birthday was incorrect, saying the birth year was first listed as 1945, but the year was actually 1970 according to public information sources.
“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,” Heard’s lawyers said in their motion.
The judge reduced the compensatory damages to $350,000 under a state cap after the jury’s verdict was read.
Heard was awarded $2 million in her counterclaim against Depp. The countersuit claimed that Heard was defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers.
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