A few weeks after his high-profile court defeat to Johnny Depp, Amber Heard’s latest legal move has been rejected.
A Virginia judge has rejected Amber Heard’s argument that she should receive a new trial after Johnny Depp won a $ 10 million ($ 14.8 million) verdict against her, dismissing his claims that a jury prejudiced the outcome of the case.
He New York Post reports that Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate released the 36-year-old on Wednesday. Aquaman the star’s bid for a new trial for multiple reasons, according to a court document.
Heard, 36, had argued in part that jury 15 in his case and Depp’s was not the person who was summoned to be a jury, which contaminated his right to a fair trial.
But the judge rejected that claim and wrote in his sentence that: “The jury was examined, sat for the entire jury, deliberated and reached a verdict.”
Heard, “does not allege that the inclusion of jury fifteen on the jury harmed her in any way,” the decision says.
“The only evidence before this court is that the jury and all jurors followed their oaths, court instructions and orders,” Azcarate continued. “This court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.”
Heart’s lawyers said the jury’s confusion could have occurred because there are two people with the same last name who live in the same address but are different ages: 77 and 52.
The eldest was summoned, but the youngest finally responded to the jury’s call and sat in court, the lawyers said.
Depp’s attorneys responded that Heard’s team could have resolved the issue before the trial began, as both parties received a “pre-panel jury list” more than two months earlier.
His team argued that even if the exchange took place, Heard was not adversely affected because the jury was “tried by the court and the parties’ attorney.”
The judge sided with Depp’s arguments and found that the jury was questioned “for an entire day.”
“There is no evidence of fraud or felony,” Azcarate ruled.
It was not immediately clear whether Heard plans to appeal the sentence.
Last month, the 59-year-old pirates of the caribbean The plaintiff earned $ 10.35 million ($ 15.31 million) in damages in his defamation case against Heard, his ex-wife.
Heard won a $ 2 million ($ 2.96 million) verdict in one of his defamation lawsuits against Depp.
Depp’s representative declined to comment. A Heart representative did not immediately return a request for comment.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.