UK Court of Appeals Rejects Johnny Depp’s Final Appeal Against Verdict In ‘Wife Beater’ Libel Case Against The Sun
Spencer Baculi
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Johnny Depp’s libel suit against The Sun has finally come to a decisive end, as the UK Court of Appeals has denied his final appeal against the case’s verdict, which ruled that the British tabloid was accurate in describing the actor as a ‘wife beater’ in regard to his relationship with Zack Snyder’s Justice League actress Amber Heard.
Source: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), Warner Bros. Pictures
Related: Johnny Depp Presents New Documents Claiming Amber Heard Lied About $7M Charity Donation
In a 14-page ruling released on the morning of March 25th, Appeals Judges Lord Justice Dingemans and Lord Justice Underhill found that “The hearing before [Judge Andrew Niccol] was full and fair, and he gave thorough reasons for his conclusions which have not been shown even arguably to be vitiated by any error of approach or mistake of law.”
Last week, Andrew Caldecott QC argued to the court on behalf of Depp that the belief that Heard had donated her entire $7 Million USD divorce settlement to charity, an act which has since been heavily disputed by Depp and his legal team, affected the court’s verdict.
However, the Appeals Judges rejected this argument, believing that said belief played little to no part in Judge Niccol’s final ruling.
Source: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), Warner Bros. Pictures
In the wake of this ruling, a spokesperson for Heard told Deadline that they were “pleased but by no means surprised”, as they believed Depp’s claim that Heard failed to fulfill her charitable obligations was “no more than a press strategy.”
“The evidence presented in the UK case was overwhelming and undeniable,” said the spokesperson. “To reiterate, the original verdict was that Mr. Depp committed domestic violence against Amber on no fewer than 12 occasions and she was left in fear of her life.”
In a separate statement, Depp’s lawyer, Joelle Rich of Schillings partners, informed the entertainment trade publication that she “seriously questioned” the court’s decision, before asserting that the actor was now turning his attention to “presenting the complete, irrefutable evidence of the truth in the U.S. libel case against Ms. Heard where she will have to provide full disclosure”.
Source: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures
Depp is next due in court on April 11, 2022, the newly set start date for his $50M defamation trial against his ex-wife. Heard’s $100M countersuit, issued in response to Depp’s defamation suit, has not yet received a court date.
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