Amber Heard Files Countersuit Related To The Johnny Depp Trial
Amber Heard has filed a countersuit against an insurance company that claims it does not have to pay out her $1 million policy due to "willful misconduct."
Amber Heard has filed a countersuit against New York Marine and General Insurance Co., asking a judge to enforce a policy the company wishes to not pay out. According to a report from TMZ, New York Marine and General Insurance Co. has filed a suit in California that would allow them to dismiss a million-dollar payment to the Aquaman actress. The insurance company claims it does not have to pay her due to “willful misconduct” related to defamation while Amber Heard claims the policy was unconditional
It seems that Amber Heard took out a liability policy in that amount to protect her in the recent Depp v. Heard defamation case, which ultimately resulted in her being found liable in three matters of defamation against her estranged spouse. The jury ordered her to pay the former Pirates of the Caribbean actor $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages (which was reduced to $350,000 under Virginia state law). While the million dollars from New York Marine and General Insurance Co. would only be less than a tenth of what Amber Heard has been ordered to pay, that is still a considerable some.
Essentially, the insurance company seems to be claiming that the policy is void due to the defamation of Johnny Depp that Amber Heard was found liable to; the actress is conversely claiming that New York Marine and General Insurance Co. agreed to pay her legal defense fees and judgments up to one million dollars, regardless of the circumstances. Essentially, both parties in this suit are claiming the insurance policy states the opposite of what the other is saying, which means this must be a pretty odd contract.
Since the end of the defamation trial, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have both mostly stayed out of the public eye, albeit in very different ways. Depp has seemed to be regaining some of his previous status in Hollywood, where he had been one of the biggest box office draws in the world for decades. He is currently in production on the film Jeanne du Barry, a historical biopic in which he will play the French King Louis XV.
Johnny Depp has also been performing and recording music with rock legend Jeff Beck, selling out his first fine art show in minutes, and dealing with yet more legal issues. Amber Heard, on the other hand, is allegedly living under an assumed name in Spain and has largely made public statements that she intends to appeal the defamation trial judgment via her legal team. It has also been rumored that she has been in a bidding war for a tell-all book.
At the very least, it seems that the legal fallout of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard battle is still ongoing and is now involving yet more third parties. Since Amber Heard does not seem to be inspiring the same kind of public reclamation project as Depp and likely is not in contention for many acting roles, a million-dollar insurance policy is not something she is likely to let go easily.
