Hollywood
What happens if Amber Heard fails to pay Johnny Depp $10.35 million in damages?
By Janet Williams
Jun 9, 2022 1:05 AM
people
As many people know, the jury sided with Johnny Depp in his lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard the other day. True, the judge reduced the compensation he requested for defamation from $15 million to $10.35 million based on a Virginia law that limits the number of fines.
Amber Heard, in turn, won $2 million in damages for her counterclaim for defamation. However, a lawyer for actress Elaine Bredehoft said on Thursday that Heard’s next step would be to appeal the verdict and confirmed that the actress would not be able to pay damages. In addition, Bredehoft mentioned last week that Amber, 36, has spent more than $6 million in legal fees.
Legal analyst Emily Dee Baker explained what could happen if Amber Heard cannot pay all of these bills: solutions,” Baker says.
“Ben Chu said in his closing remarks that Johnny Depp did not seek to punish Amber Heard with money. They will try to settle this case, and you will see a PR statement that they are not looking to enforce the decision.
But if Depp wants to enforce the decision, this will launch a whole separate process in court, potentially related to the confiscation of property and finding ways to pay the claim.
If I were part of Depp’s team, I believe they should get an injunction that would prevent Amber Heard from repeating statements that the jury found defamatory and then stipulating that payments would not be made and there would be no judgment.
If Depp is not interested in money thinks it is more important for him to ensure that she does not repeat these accusations. Getting a judgment is one thing.
But getting money is completely different,” the lawyer said Suppose Depp’s side doesn’t get the money paid. In that case, they can seize the property and, as the expert says, try to recover from her any wages or any fees that come in and start seeking it through the courts, but this is a separate process that begins after the decision is made, and it can be very lengthy to enforce.