The drama surrounding the aftermath of the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation lawsuit may have become even more complex than the six-week trial itself at this point. Ever since the jury has passed its verdict At the beginning of June, further developments took place for both stars. When it comes to Heard, she and her team are currently figuring out how to pay for the millions of dollars Depp has been awarded in court, while also looking for ways to appeal or even have a lawsuit filed. In addition, it appears that the actress is now facing a brand new lawsuit filed by an insurance company.
The New York Marine and General Insurance Company is the entity suing Amber Heard, per… law and crime†The organization, which insured Heard from July 2018 to July 2019, filed suit against her in California last Friday, hoping to accomplish three things. The first is to absolve herself from paying for the star’s defense in her defamation lawsuit against Johnny Depp. The group also filed a petition so that she would not have to pay the money Heard now owes her ex according to the verdict. And finally, it hopes to avoid being billed for any further litigation costs associated with an appeal.
The suit states that during the above period, the Aquarius actress was covered by insurance worth $1 million. Indeed, under the California Insurance Act, an insurer can be held liable for the negligence of the insured party. However, New York Marine states that “an insurer is not liable for any loss caused by the intentional act of the insured”[.]In other words, because a jury ruled that the starlet acted maliciously, the company believes it should not compensate her. The filing also notes that NYM accepted the law firm Cameron McEvoy as its defense in October 2019, but declined to approve it when the firm withdrew from the case in November 2020, reportedly at the behest of the actress herself or her team. As a result of that change, the insurer does not believe it should pay cash for legal fees.
The lawsuit reportedly notes that New York Marine insured Amber Heard during a key portion of the defamation lawsuit. It was during that period that she published the Washington Post op-ed from 2018 in the midst of the legal conflict. This timetable also includes March 2019, when Johnny Depp formally filed the defamation charges against his former wife.
Following the case, Johnny Depp was awarded $10 million in damages and $5 million in punitive damages. His ex, on the other hand, got $2 million in her $100 million counterpart. The amount for punitive damages has since been reduced and Amber Heard now has to pay $8.3 million, which her team says she can’t afford. (However, the star probably raised eyebrows when she was spotted with a private plane shortly after that statement.)
The Friday night lights alum seemed to appeal (around the time when her rep made a bold comparison about the case). However, she and her legal team are now seeking a mistrial through an alleged foul with Juror 15†She doubled on those efforts in a lawsuit filed last week, alleging that the person who showed up at the courthouse is not the same person who was summoned.
Meanwhile, Johnny Depp has to deal with his own financial and legal situations. The pirates of the caribbean star looks at additional legal costs as a result of a recent court decision†In addition, Depp is about to return to court for sexual assault related to his work on the 2018 film City of Liesâ€
It is difficult to say how the consequences of the defamation case will be resolved. But if this latest New York Marine lawsuit is any indication, Amber Heard could be tying up loose ends on her part.