Johnny Depp’s Lawyer Explains Why He Appealed His Jury Victory Over Amber Heard (Video)
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Johnny Depp won a multimillion dollar prize from a Virginia jury last month – so why would he file an appeal? Because Amber Heard filed one first, his lawyer said Thursday.
“If [Heard] insists on litigating this matter, we have to protect our client’s interests,” Camille Vasquez told CBS on Thursday morning. It was the first sit-down interview for Vasquez since the trial gained her widespread internet fame.
The jury found both parties responsible for separate instances of defamation in June, but awarded Depp $15 million (reduced to $10.4 million by state law), with Heard winning a $2 million judgment. It’s the latter decision – based on comments Depp’s former lawyer made to British tabloids – that he has now chosen to appeal.
But he wouldn’t have bothered, Vasquez said, if she didn’t do it first. Depp’s attorney also noted that Heard’s move to appeal was “expected,” noting that “she’s indicated since the day she lost the trial that she was going to appeal.”
Heard filed a motion earlier this month to either set aside the verdict or declare a mistrial based on a juror’s mistaken identity, a motion that was subsequently shot down by a Virginia judge. Her wider appeal of the jury’s verdict is still pending – and now Depp’s is, too.
“It’s pretty standard legal procedure,” Vasquez explained, “we just are hopeful that the court will uphold the verdict, which we think was the right verdict, and allow both parties to move on.”
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Amber Heard Motion to Nullify Johnny Depp Verdict Rejected by Judge
Watch the entire clip of Vasquez above.
