Johnny Depp has won his case, with $15 million awarded to him, for Amber Heard's defamatory and false claims of physical and sexual violence, with her in turn winning $2 million for a defamatory statement by his agent.
That sees Johnny Depp walking away richer with at least $8.3 million winnings from the trial, after possible reductions.
As a prominent American lawyer, Jonathan Turley, says:
'Depp walks away with a far greater victory in the rejection of Heard's allegations. ...
'...Depp was only found guilty for the statement of his agent. The jury also rejected any punitive award for that agent. With the reduction, Depp can walk with $10,3000,000. Again, the court can consider a reduction of the award under remittitur.
'...Even if Heard's award stands, that still means that Heard is hit with an $8,300,000. Even though the punitive award was statutorily reduced, it showed that the jury not only disbelieved Heard but sought to impose added penalties in light of her conduct.
'...When I teach defamation, we often discuss how much of these cases turn on credibility judgments. Here the jury clearly saw little credibility in Heard and an abundance of culpability...
'...We also discuss in torts how rare punitive awards are in the United States despite the public perception. Punitive damages are awarded in only around one percent of cases.'
Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, criminal defense attorney, and legal analyst, 1 June 2022, on his Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/JonathanTurley/status/1532083900989718530?t=6JkGXL5UygHvI9wVSy24rg
Another well known lawyer, Will Chamberlain, Senior Counsel for the IAP, Article III Project and UnsilencedOrg, meanwhile, referenced specific evidence presented during the trial and ripped apart Amber Heard's statement in which she alleged the trial set women (rather than her) back — he said:
'Amber Heard was on tape admitting to hitting Johnny Depp and daring him to accuse her of domestic abuse and it STILL took an immense amount of money and years of litigation for Depp to clear his name
'"This sets back women"
'[ ... I]f you can avoid beating up your husband, admitting it on tape, and then writing op-eds claiming that *he* was the abuser, you'll be fine'
https://twitter.com/willchamberlain/status/1532098036037562375?t=k6bgsK661W7oD6H7MNOHMA
Addressing incorrect claims Amber Heard could use bankruptcy to escape the verdict, Robert Barnes, a high profile trial lawyer noted,
'Bad news for #AmberHeard -- Bankruptcy Code Section 523(a)(6) prevents a debtor from obtaining the discharge of any debt for “willful and malicious injury by the debtor to another." In other words, her $8M+ debt to #JohnnyDepp must be paid in full, and cannot be discharged by BK.'
https://twitter.com/barnes_law/status/1532127062185476096?t=yte_1XSIqyyY5dtzu5H32g&s=08
