Judge Denies Johnny Depp’s Lawyer’s Request to Force Amber Heard to Be Deposed Today

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp. (Photo: Getty Images)

A judge denied Johnny Depp’s lawyer’s request to depose Amber Heard and neighbor Raquel Pennington on Friday, a week before the June 17 court hearing scheduled to determine whether to extend the temporary restraining order issued against Depp.

Depp’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, filed a request to compel Heard’s deposition immediately. But according to sources and court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the Court denied the motion, reasoning that the original notice of deposition failed to give Heard the required 10-day notice.

“Respondent’s request to take deposition of [Heard] is denied, as the request was untimely noticed,” the judge stated.

Wasser also asked for the actress to provide all of her communications (writing, documents, texts, etc.) from Dec. 15 to present, including with her friend, Tillet Wright.

“Amber has not been given sufficient time to locate the requested documents,” Heard attorney Samantha Spector stated. “The request requires Amber to review over six months of personal communications with potentially every person she has spoken with, to search for any passing reference to the incidents in question. This is unduly burdensome.”

Spector also states that along with the time notice violation, “there is no need for [Heard’s] deposition” since Heard provided a full testimony when she filed for a temporary restraining order against Depp on May 27.

While Heard was unavailable to be deposed on Friday because she was “en route” to Pennington’s engagement party in New Jersey, she states in court documents, “I remain willing to attend my deposition on a mutually convenient date in the future and cooperate with any required requests in that regard.”

In addition, the judge denied Wasser’s request to have Pennington’s testimony excluded at the June 17 hearing. The two sides were able to agree on a time and place for Pennington’s deposition – June 16 at 1:30 pm PT – one day before the domestic violence hearing.

Court documents also show correspondence between the two camps discussing a “settlement conference.”