Heard’s attorneys filed documents in Fairfax County District Court, where a six-week trial included riveting testimony from both Heard and Depp. The document notifies the Virginia Court of Appeals that Hurd intends to appeal the decision, as well as the judge’s post-verdict decisions, including the denial of Hurd’s request to vacate the verdict and dismiss the lawsuit or order a new one trial. “We believe the court made errors that prevented a fair and just verdict under the First Amendment. We are therefore appealing the verdict,” a spokesperson for Heard said in a statement. “While we realize today’s filing will stoke the fires on Twitter, there are steps we must take to ensure both justice and fairness.” Depp sued Heard for defamation over an article she wrote in December 2018 in the Washington Post, describing herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp’s lawyers claimed he was defamed by the article, even though it never mentioned him by name. Heard countersued, claiming Depp’s former lawyer defamed her by publicly calling her abuse allegations a hoax. The court ordered Heard to pay Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. Punitive damages were reduced to $350,000 with a state cap. The jury awarded Heard $2 million for her counterclaim. Much of the testimony during the six-week trial focused on Heard’s claims that she was physically and sexually abused by Depp at least a dozen times. Depp insisted he never hit Heard and that she was the perpetrator. “The jury heard the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and reached a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Depp on multiple occasions,” a Depp representative said in a statement. “We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”
