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Amber Heard has once again switched lawyers in her bid to force two insurance companies to collect the bill for her payment of libel to ex-husband Johnny Depp.
Heard, 36, was ordered to pay her ex-husband more than $10 million in damages at the end of the explosive trial in June, when a jury found she had defamed Depp in a newspaper op-ed published in 2018.
She is currently represented by David L. Axelrod and Jay Ward Brown in her appeal against that verdict.
The actress also recently hired Kirk Pasich on her legal team in an effort to get multiple insurance companies to cover her legal bills, which could potentially exceed $15 million, according to Puck News.
Puck claims Heard’s costs rose more than $8 million before the Virginia trial even began. Heard’s team seems to want the homeowner’s insurance policy to cover those bills.
Amber Heard has again switched lawyers in her bid to force two insurance companies to bill for her payout of libel to ex-husband Johnny Depp
Heard, 36, was ordered to pay her ex-husband more than $10 million in damages at the end of the explosive trial in June, when a jury found she had defamed Depp in a newspaper op-ed published in 2018.
The actress also recently hired Kirk Pasich (pictured) on her legal team in an effort to get multiple insurance companies to help cover her legal bills, which may be more than $15 million.
Amber Heard’s attorney Elaine Charlson Bredehoft (left), who represented the actress during the six-week defamation trial, was dumped as the process to appeal the judge’s ruling in the Johnny Depp trial continues.
Heard is currently represented by David L. Axelrod (pictured left) and Jay Ward Brown (pictured right) in her appeal against that verdict
The fight involves Travelers Commercial Insurance Company and New York Marine General Insurance Company. Travelers initially sued New York Marine in July 2021 to get a refund of half of what it spent defending a customer who turned out to be Heard.
Heard’s homeowners policy with Travelers covered “defamation” to the point of about $500,000, while New York Marine had provided her with a $1 million general liability policy.
The gist of the lawsuit was that Travelers believed Heard had the right to choose her own attorneys, while New York Marine disagreed, believing the case to be “fairly straightforward.” A judge agreed with New York Marine’s desire to hire local, lower-cost attorneys.
Travelers had doubts about New York Marine-appointed attorneys Timothy McEvoy and Sean Patrick Roche, arguing that they’re “piggybacking” on the work of Heard attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Elaine Charlson Bredehoft.
New York Marine, for their part, claimed that their lawyers had been blocked by Kaplan and Bredehoft. They now want to repay $621,693 in exchange for their contribution to Heard’s defense fund, because their lawyers were kept out of several legal proceedings.
Heard was ordered to pay more than $10 million to Deep at the end of the defamation trial. Likewise, Depp was ordered to pay his ex-wife $2 million
The insurers are currently suing Heard for not contributing to the libel scheme that will see the Aquaman star pay Depp approximately $10.35 million under a California law that prohibits insurers from covering “intentional acts.” Pasich represents Heard to try to resolve this situation on her behalf.
Double Jeopardy for Heard may find her responsible for the entire verdict if it survives her appeal, as Travelers will try to avoid paying it if Depp could prove she made false statements.
At the conclusion of the defamation lawsuit, Depp, 59, was awarded $10 million to $15 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
Judge Penney Azcarate ruled there was ‘no evidence of fraud or misconduct’ by the juror and the jury’s verdict should stand
The judge later limited the damages to the state’s maximum of $350,000, giving Depp a total of $8.35 million.
Meanwhile, Heard won one of her three counterclaims over statements from Depp’s lawyer, suggesting that the actress and her friends had destroyed their apartment before calling the police.
The actress was awarded $2 million in damages of the $100 million she sought.
A day after Heard’s team appealed, Depp’s team did the same to reverse the few million the actor owes his ex-wife.
The Pirates of the Caribbean acting team said they are appealing to ensure “all information is considered by the court” as they come back to consider Heard’s appeal.
Before appealing, Heard’s attorney asked the judge to annul the decision and declare a mistrial. It was argued that one of the jurors in the case should not have been eligible for the hearing because his subpoena was intended for his father, who had the same name and lived at the same address.
Judge Penny Azcarate rejected the request, claiming that there was no ‘evidence of fraud or misconduct’ by the juror and that the jury’s verdict should stand.”