Jury rules in favor of Johnny Depp in defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard

The jury awarded compensatory damages in the amount of $10 million, and punitive damages of $5 million.

By Edward Era Barbacena

On Wednesday, a jury in Virginia determined that Johnny Depp won his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard.

The jury awarded compensatory damages in the amount of $10 million, and punitive damages of $5 million. Notably, Virginia has a $350,000 cap on punitive damages, which the judge adjusted in Depp's case following the reading of the verdict. 

The jury also awarded Heard $2 million in compensatory damages for the defamation counterclaim that she filed against Depp, in which Heard said that she was defamed when Depp’s lawyer claimed that her abuse allegations were a hoax.

The jury ruled unanimously in favor of Depp in his case, responding yes to every question asked on whether he had proved that Heard had acted with actual malice, and that statements made by Heard in regards to Depp were false.

In regards to Heard’s countersuit, the jury found that she had, only in some cases, proven her case of defamation against Depp.

The jury deliberated for around 12 hours over the course of three days, the Associated Press reported. Notably, Depp was not present at the court for the decision. He appeared over the weekend in the UK performing at a concert.

Depp filed the $50 million lawsuit against Heard, in which he accuses her of libeling him in a 2018 op-ed that she wrote for the Washington Post, describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."

The trial took place in Fairfax, Virginia because the Washington Post's servers are located in the state.

Each person accused the other of destroying their careers. Both are actors, with Depp most famously starring in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, and Heard playing the role of Meta in the DC comics movie "Aquaman."

The two were married between 2015 and 2017. Heard filed for divorce in 2016, and was granted a temporary restraining order after she claimed that Depp had thrown a phone at her, leaving her with bruises, according to NBC.

Heard testified that Depp had physically and sexually assaulted her more than a dozen times over that time span.

During her time on the stand, Heard recalled Depp resuming a lifestyle of drug usage and heavy drinking, stating in graphic detail the abuse she allegedly received from Depp.

She said that Depp was controlling and jealous, and that on more than one occasion she feared for her life.

Jurors were shows photos of an injured Heard, as well as expletive-riddled emails and text messages between the couple.

Depp testified though that these allegations were made up, and that he never abused her. He instead claimed that Heard was the one who physically attacked him on multiple occasions.

"Never did I, myself, reach the point of striking Ms. Heard in any way, nor have I ever struck any woman in my life," Depp said while speaking from the stand, according to the Washington Post.

Depp told the jurors that Heard would frequently berate him, and that she would sometimes "strike out" physically in a violent way.

The jury was shows a photo of Depp, who had a bruise on his face, taken by a security guard after Heard had hit him. Another photo showed his face with scrapes on it which occurred after another argument.

Depp said that Heard had been the "perfect partner" for the first year to 18 months of their relationship, but that soon changed to one where the two got into arguments.

Depp also said that Heard had "grossly embellished" his "quote-unquote substance abuse."

According to the Associated Press, jurors had to determine in both claims whether statements were made with "actual malice," "meaning they knew what they were saying was false, or were acting with a reckless disregard for the truth."