Johnny Depp’s Spending Habits Not Currently Relevant to Fraud Claims Against Him by Former Business Managers, Judge Rules
Johnny Depp‘s personal spending habits are not currently relevant in his ongoing legal battle with his former business managers, a judge ruled in Los Angeles on Monday.
According to reports from Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, the actor’s sometimes extravagant purchases don’t impact the fraud aspect of the case — which will proceed.
Depp sued TMG in February for $25 million in a fraud lawsuit. TMG then filed a cross-complaint, claiming the actor lived an “ultra-extravagant lifestyle that often knowingly cost [him] in excess of $2 million per month to maintain, which he simply could not afford.”
In the ruling, L.A. County Superior Court judge Teresa Beaudet wrote, “The pages of allegations of Depp’s allegedly outrageous spending clearly have no relevance to the 5% commission allegedly owed TMG from the Pirates of the Caribbean payout, or to the final work done by TMG on transitioning their files to Depp’s new representatives,” according to Deadline.
“They would seem more relevant to the allegations of breach of oral contract related to the credit card debts, except that TMG does not specifically allege which exact expenditures by Depp were spent on which card, leading to that debt owed.”
Some of Depp’s alleged spending – according to TMG – included $30,000 a month on wine, $400,000 on a diamond cuff for his ex-wife Amber Heard, and $5 million to shoot the ashes of his friend author Hunter S. Thompson out of a cannon in Aspen.
Regardless of the Monday ruling, TMG’s fraud claims against their former client will be allowed to proceed.
Beaudet wrote, “TMG alleged that Cross-Defendants never intended to abide by their promises and TMG reasonably relied on the alleged false promises by doing the 386 hours of work during those last two weeks of March. TMG has sufficiently alleged the elements of an action for promissory fraud with sufficient specificity, and the demurrer is overruled as to the sixth cause of action.”
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, TMG’s legal team dubbed Beaudet’s decision a win.
Said TMG attorney Michael Kump of Kinsella Weitzman, “Today’s ruling was a clear victory for The Management Group because the Court ruled in favor of our fraud claim. We intend to file an amended cross complaint for declaratory relief. All of the issues regarding Depp’s extravagant spending continue to be fully included in the case.”
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Depp’s attorney Adam Waldman told PEOPLE in a statement, “Today Judge Beaudet dismissed the Mandels’ declaratory relief claim, and struck from their cross-complaint over eighty paragraphs of allegations containing frivolous smears against Johnny Depp, which constituted their ‘PR defense’ to his serious fraud and malfeasance claims against them.”
“The judge ruled that the Mandels can continue in their cross claim for about $68,000 in fees they claim they are owed, along with unspecified punitive damages.”
