The actress' request for a mistrial, citing a jury fraud claim, was previously denied by the judge.
Amber Heard has taken the necessary step to officially appeal the verdict in Johnny Depp's defamation case against her.
According to new legal documents, obtained by ET, the Aquaman actress' legal team filed the paperwork Thursday in Fairfax County, Virginia, alerting the court they will be filing an appeal soon in the case where jurors awarded the Pirates of the Caribbean star $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The punitive damages were later reduced to $350,000 in accordance with the state's statutory cap.
Heard was awarded $2 million by the jury in compensatory damages for her counterclaim but nothing in punitive damages. The jury found Depp liable after his attorney referred to Heard's claims as a "hoax."
In a statement to ET, a spokesperson for Heard says, "We believe the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment." The spokesperson added, "We are therefore appealing the verdict. While we realize today's filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice."
In response to Heard filing the notice of appeal, a spokesperson for Depp tells ET, "The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp, in multiple instances. We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand."
Those who have followed the case know that Heard recently flied a motion to have the judge declare a mistrial and order a new trial after claiming the wrong juror served on the jury. Judge Penney S. Azcarate denied the motion, saying "the only evidence before this Court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the Court's instructions, and orders" and, as such, "this court is bound by the competent decision of the jury."
Back in June, Heard was adamant during an NBC News interview with Savannah Guthrie that a key piece of evidence could have triggered a much different outcome, possibly in her favor, had the jury been privy to "a binder worth of years of notes dating back to 2011 from the very beginning of my relationship that were taken by my doctor who I was reporting the abuse to."
Legal expert Julie Rendelman previously explained to ET that in order for Heard to appeal "she must post the judgment that she was found against her by the jury, which is $10 million." Furthermore, Rendelman said that in addition, Heard "has to post six percent of that judgment each year in order to go forward with that appeal."
It's unclear if Heard has come up with the huge sums of money, but her lawyer had previously said the actress "absolutely" cannot pay the judgment.
Reporting by Jama Suchomel
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