Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have had mixed results in latest legal hearing on $ 50 million defamation and its counter-suit
In the latest Virginia legal hearing between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, Fairfax County Judge Bruce D. White blocked Depp’s attempt to get Heard’s case against him out of court amid a new law.
Heard was allowed to advance in her $ 100 million counterclaims against the 57-year-old actor after his attorney Adam Waldman called her domestic violence allegations “ fake ” and a “ sexual assault hoax ” last year, according to legal documents published on The Hollywood Reporter.
The Kentucky-born actor had tried to use a new anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) law in the state last year to get Heard’s lawsuit thrown.
New Details: During the latest Virginia legal hearing between Amber Heard, 34, and Johnny Depp, 57, Fairfax County Judge Bruce D. White blocked Depp’s attempt to get the case out of court amid new law
Depp and his team initially allegedly filed suit in Virginia over a Washington Post opinion she wrote for lack of a law (which has since been implemented).
But the judge ignored the legal move the Aquaman star, 34, made citing the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, alleging Depp and his team orchestrated a bot attack on her via social media (to get her out of Aquaman. removed), citing a lack of evidence.
“The plea does not show that the social media accounts communicated obscene language, suggested obscene acts, or threatened illegal or immoral acts,” the judge said. “Rather, it appears that Mr. Depp privately texted those statements to two of his friends, and Mrs. Heard didn’t claim Mr. Depp intended to see them.”
The Austin, Texas-born beauty responded to Waldman’s reaction to her allegations against the actor, known for playing Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Setback: The judge ignored the legal move Heard made citing the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, claiming Depp and his team orchestrated a bot attack on her via social media
Individualist: Depp performed in a daring ensemble in London last year
Depp fell short of his claims of immunity to SLAPP, the judge said, noting that there was no public concern and that the Edward Scissorhands actor “ may have made these statements with factual or constructive knowledge or with reckless disregard for whether they are false ‘.
The judge added that Depp’s comments and Waldman’s ‘hoax’ comment imply that Ms. Heard lied and perjured when she appeared in court in 2016 to obtain a temporary restraining order against Mr. Depp ‘and’ imply that she lied that she was a victim of domestic violence.
In light of the #MeToo movement and the current social climate, falsely claiming abuse would certainly ‘hurt’ [Heard’s] reputation in humanity’s general assessment, ”the judge wrote in his ruling. “Therefore, this Court holds that the statements contain the required ‘sting’ for a defamation claim.”
Doomed: Heard and Depp were cracked down in LA in January 2016, months before their split
The judge concluded that Waldman’s comments do not fall under protected opinion because “whether Mr. Depp abused Ms. Heard is a fact that can be proven true or false.”
In November, a British judge ruled against Depp’s lawsuit against an English publication for calling him a ‘woman-beater’, citing that the allegations Heard had made – which negatively impacted the career of the actor – ‘essentially true’.
Depp was removed from Fantastic Beasts 3 by Warner Bros. in November, when he played Gellert Grindelwald on the JK Rowling series.
Depp’s case will be tried on May 3, while Heard’s lawsuit will appear in court later this year.