In the trial of Johnny Depp against Amber Heard, the judge formalized the multi-million dollar compensation awarded by the jury in favor of the actor

The judge in charge of Johnny Depp’s libel trial against Amber Heard has made official the multi-million dollar jury prize to Depp today, Friday, with an order for Heard to pay $ 10.35 million for defaming the actor’s reputation describing herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse in an editorial she published in 2018.

Judge Penney Azcarate introduced the order after a brief hearing in the Fairfax County Circuit Court in the United States. He also ordered Depp to pay Heard $ 2 million, the amount the jury awarded him in his counterclaim. for libel filed following the statements of one of Depp’s attorneys.

The order was a formality afterwards the jury announced its verdict on June 1, mainly supporting Johnny Depp after an explicit process in which the couple revealed sordid details of their brief marriage in statements broadcast on television and closely followed on social media.

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for her December 2018 editorial in the Washington Post in which she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”

The jury issued a verdict in Depp’s favor on three counts of defamation relating to specific claims in the article.

In this sense, the jury ruled that Johnny Depp should receive $ 10 million in damages and 5 million in punitive damages, but the judge reduced the amount of punitive damages to $ 350,000, because that is the state limit.

For its part, Amber Heard said she intends to appeal the verdict. During today’s hearing, Friday, the judge said so if Heard appeals, he will have to pay a $ 10.35 million bail while the appeal is resolved, a common practice. The court order states that both parties are subject to 6 percent interest per annum. Source: AP.

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