Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are now both in the process of appealing the verdicts in their Virginia defamation case.
After Heard, 36, filed a notice of appeal with the Virginia Court of Appeals on Thursday, 59-year-old Depp filed his own notice of appeal Friday seeking to overturn the $2 million verdict in Heard’s countersuit. While the jury found the actress defamed Depp in her 2018 op-ed and awarded him over $10 million, they sided with Heard on one of her three counterclaims, finding that Depp defamed her via comments made by his attorney Adam Waldman in 2020.
A source close to Depp tells PEOPLE it was an “overwhelmingly positive verdict” for the actor, who “believes that this is a time for both parties to move on with their lives and heal.” The source adds, “But if Ms. Heard is determined to pursue further litigation by appealing the verdict, Mr. Depp is filing a concurrent appeal to ensure that the full record and all relevant legal issues are considered by the Court of Appeal.”
Last week, Judge Penney Azcarate denied Heard’s request for a mistrial. In a statement Thursday about moving forward with the appeal — which will require Heard to post a bond of the full damages amount she owes — a spokesperson for Heard said they “believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment.”
“We are therefore appealing the verdict,” they added. “While we realize today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”
Responding to the development, a Depp spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Deadline: “The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp, in multiple instances,” read the statement. “We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”
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