According to Judge Benny Azcaret, the jurors appear to have found at least one party responsible, but they haven’t made the monetary damages they will rule on. Jurors were instructed to decide whether to make compensatory and punitive damages if they found any party responsible for the defamation.
“When you find one or more defamatory statements, you need to fill out the compensatory damages,” Azcaret told jurors in a public hearing. “You should be at least $1 and get to what you feel the damages should be. For punitive damages, you can put a 0 in there or you can fill it in as we are.”
Depp sued Heard for defamation for $50 million over the course of 2018 in an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post describing herself as a “public figure who represents domestic violence.” Although Depp’s name is not mentioned in the article, he claims that it cost him lucrative acting roles. Heard opposed the $100 million, due to statements made by Depp’s attorney about the abuse allegations. Heard and Depp met in 2009 and were married from 2015 to 2016.
The defamation trial has been underway since April, and jurors have heard more than 100 hours of testimony in all. They heard from dozens of witnesses, including live testimony from Depp and Heard, and deliberated for about 14 hours before reaching a verdict.
A source close to Depp told CNN that Depp is not in court for sentencing due to “pre-established work commitments”, adding that he will “be watched from the UK”.
Heard is awaiting verdict in court.
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