All is not over in the high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard as the latter demands a new trial as the wrong juror took the chair. While Heard was told to pay $10 million in damages after a Virginia jury on Wednesday ruled in favour of the Pirates of the Caribbean star in his defamation lawsuit against Heard, the latest development is just as unexpected as it could.
According to Deadline, Amber Heard’s legal team has demanded a new trial in the defamation case after learning that the wrong juror sat during the verdict. “Ms. Heard had a right to rely on the basic protection, as prescribed by the Virginia Code, that the jurors in this trial would be individuals who were actually summoned for jury duty,” a partially redacted new filing accessed by Deadline reads.
“Ms Amber Heard’s due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered,” Amber Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft added. According to the redacted filing, the summons for jury duty was sent out to a Virginia resident in April for the much-delayed $15 million defamation action Depp had set off in March 2019.
However, as per the recent filing, there are two individuals residing at the same address with, at the very least, “the same last name” – one a 77-year-old and another a 52-year-old. The former was the one summoned, but it looks like the latter was the one who showed up.
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