Johnny Depp Wins Right To Sue Amber Heard In $50 Million Libel Case

Heard’s wanted to have the suit dismissed.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber heard over the 2018 Washington Post where she mentioned surviving domestic violence.

Although Heard does not actually name Depp as someone who abused her, but in the past, she has accused him of domestic violence. However, Depp always denied these claims.

Depp also claimed that the piece in the Washington Post cost him a role in Disney’s Pirates reboot and further from Fantastic Beast. 

Now Fairfax County Chief Judge has overruled Amber Heard’s plea to dismiss Johnny Depp’s lawsuit, allowing the actor to move to the next step of suing Heard in the defamation case. Johnny Depp has finally won the right to sue his ex-wife Amber Heard in a $50 million libel case.

However, this judgement comes Despite Heard’s request to have the suit dismissed. She requested that the libel suit be overruled, claiming that the conclusion to the UK ruling should swing any new cases in her favour as they relate to domestic abuse allegations.

But the Judge Penney Azcarate wasn’t convinced by Defendant’s [Amber Heard] argument that Plaintiff [Depp] had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the UK Action.” 

In her ruling, Judge Azcarate wrote: “[Amber Heard] argues she was in privity with The Sun because they both had the same interest in the case.

“However, for privity to exist, [Heard’s] interest in the case must be so identical with The Sun’s interest such that The Sun’s representation of its interest is also a representation of [Heard’s] legal right.

“The Sun’s interests were based on whether the statements the newspaper published were false. [Heard’s] interests relate to whether the statements she published were false.”

The judge also mentioned that Heard hadn’t been named in Depp’s lawsuit against The Sun as her Washington Post piece was published after he sued the tabloid. The subsequent trial is expected to go in April 2022.