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Amber Heard and Johnny Depp: The History of Their Court Cases

Depp’s UK libel case against The Sun’s publisher and the Virginia defamation trial against Heard were separate proceedings. Here’s how each ended and what the 2022 settlement changed.
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Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were involved in two separate cases, not one case that moved from the United Kingdom to the United States. In the UK, Depp sued the publisher of The Sun and lost. In Virginia, Depp sued Heard over a 2018 opinion piece, and Heard filed a counterclaim over statements by Depp’s lawyer. A jury found for each of them on different claims; the parties later settled their appeals, leaving the jury’s verdict in place.

Why there were two different cases

The UK case was Depp’s libel claim against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun. The Virginia case was a defamation lawsuit between Depp and Heard. The defendants, claims, decision-makers and outcomes differed, so the Virginia verdict was not an appeal or reversal of the UK judgment.

Question UK case Virginia case
Who was sued? News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun Amber Heard, sued by Depp; Heard also counterclaimed against Depp
What was the dispute about? The Sun’s description of Depp as a “wife beater” Statements in Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed and statements by Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman
Who decided it? An English High Court judge A Fairfax County jury, followed by a judge’s final order
Outcome Depp’s claim was dismissed; the judge held the publisher had proved the allegations substantially true A split verdict: Depp prevailed on three claims, while Heard prevailed on one counterclaim

What happened in the UK case?

Depp sued News Group Newspapers over The Sun article describing him as a “wife beater.” Heard was a witness, not the defendant. In 2020, the High Court dismissed Depp’s claim. The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary’s March 18, 2021 appeal page summarized the trial judge’s conclusion: “The Judge held that the Defendants had proved that the defamatory allegations they published about the Claimant acting violently towards his ex-wife Amber Heard were substantially true.” Read the Judiciary’s case page.

Depp sought permission to appeal the dismissal. The Court of Appeal denied permission in March 2021. This ended that route in the UK case against the newspaper publisher; it did not decide the later claims between Depp and Heard in Virginia.

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What was the Virginia trial about?

In 2019, Depp sued Heard over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed discussing domestic abuse, in which Heard described herself as a public figure representing domestic abuse. Depp was not named in the op-ed; he argued that its statements referred to him and were defamatory. Heard counterclaimed over statements made by Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman. Those cross-claims—not the UK publisher’s case—went to trial in Fairfax County.

The trial began on April 11, 2022. The jury returned its verdict on June 1 after three days of deliberations. The verdict was split, rather than a complete win for either party.

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Depp’s claims and damages

The jury found for Depp on all three challenged statements and awarded him $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. On June 24, 2022, the court’s final order reduced the punitive damages to Virginia’s statutory maximum of $350,000. The jury’s $5 million punitive award was therefore not the amount ultimately entered by the judge. The final order is available here.

Heard’s counterclaim and damages

The jury found for Heard on one counterclaim concerning a statement by Waldman and awarded her $2 million in compensatory damages. It awarded no punitive damages to Heard. The court order and contemporaneous verdict reporting describe the awards and the judge’s reduction of Depp’s punitive damages. The Independent’s June 2, 2022 verdict report provides a contemporaneous account.

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The verdict decided the particular claims submitted to that jury. It should not be treated as a universal judicial finding about every allegation or every event in the relationship.

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Appeals, settlement and the final amount

Both parties appealed aspects of the Virginia judgment. In December 2022, they settled the appeals: Courthouse News Service reported that Heard would pay $1 million and both sides would dismiss their appeals. The jury verdict remained in place, with no new appellate ruling on its merits. Heard made no admission in her accompanying public statement; that statement was distinct from the legal effect of settling the appeals. Read Courthouse News Service’s settlement report.

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Accordingly, $15 million was not the final amount due to Depp under the damages award: the judge capped his punitive damages at $350,000, and the later settlement was reported as a $1 million payment by Heard. The settlement payment was not a new jury award.

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Timeline

  • 2020: The UK High Court dismisses Depp’s claim against News Group Newspapers.
  • March 18, 2021: The Judiciary publishes its appeal-permission page; Depp’s application to appeal the UK dismissal is denied that month.
  • April 11, 2022: The Virginia trial begins in Fairfax County.
  • June 1, 2022: The Virginia jury returns its split verdict.
  • June 24, 2022: The Fairfax court enters its final order, reducing Depp’s punitive damages to the statutory maximum.
  • December 2022: The parties settle their Virginia appeals; the jury verdict remains in place.

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