Unsealed court documents show Amber Heard walked away from a divorce payout from Johnny Depp that could have run to tens-of-millions of dollars, as the financially-challenged actress sells her beloved California home.
Documents seen by the Daily Beast show that the Aquaman star, 36, ignored guidance from her legal team not to pursue Depp for the maximum cash she was entitled to after they filed for divorce in 2016.
She could have sought half Depp’s $33 million he made filming the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, since it was made while they were married.
But Heard chose not to, and wrote them an email saying she was being ‘amazingly true to (her) word, that this is now about the money.’
A judge refused to let that evidence be admitted during Depp’s defamation lawsuit against Heard.
She was ordered to pay Depp a total of $8.3 million after being found guilty of defamation, but says she doesn’t have enough cash to do so.
Amber Heard appears to have sold a Southern California property for over a million dollars, just as unsealed documents from her trial with Johnny Depp reveal she may have left tens of millions on the table in their divorce
She may now have begun raising some of that cash by selling her Yucca Valley home in the California desert for $1.05million, a profit of about $500,000 for Heard, as per TMZ.
Heard allegedly bought the house in 2019 through an anonymous trust tied to the actress.
There is speculation about Heard’s ability to immediately cover the damages, which includes $10million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages.
She will also receive $2million from Depp in a counter-lawsuit, leaving her with just over $8million to pay.
She may have begun raising some of that cash by selling her Yucca Valley home in the California desert for $1.05million, a profit of about $500,000
Heard allegedly bought the house in 2019 through an anonymous trust tied to the actress
There is speculation about Heard’s ability to immediately cover the damages, which includes $10million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. She will also receive $2million from Depp in a counter-lawsuit, leaving her with just over $8million to pay
The latter amount was reduced from $5million due to Virginia’s cap on such awards.
Newly-unsealed court documents suggest that Heard may have walked away from more than enough to pay up in their divorce.
The Daily Beast pointed out that Judge Penney Azcarate refused to allow Team Amber to submit a conversation she had with her lawyers during the divorce trial.
Attorneys for the actress were begging her to pursue what they felt were ‘tens of million of dollars’ she was entitled to through Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean profits.
They alleged that because Depp made Pirates of the Caribbean 5 during the marriage, it was ‘community property’ and an asset Heard was entitled to half of.
Heard would not allow them to chase that money, with her lawyers saying via email that she was being ‘true to your word’ that it wasn’t about cash.
Judge Azcarate refused any reference to these emails in the scope of the defamation trial.
Perhaps the spiciest reveal from the documents is that team Depp may have attempted to submit nude photos of Heard, as well as Amber’s brief work as an exotic dancer.
Heard’s legal team argued these were ‘irrelevant personal matters’ that should not be allowed in the trial.
Heard, 36, appealed the judge’s decision in her defamation case against Johnny Depp on July 21 – two months after she was subjected to pay $10 million to her ex-husband in damages.
Newly-unsealed court documents suggest that Heard may have walked away from more than enough to pay up in their divorce
Judge Penney Azcarate refused to allow Team Amber to submit a conversation she had with her lawyers during the divorce trial. Attorneys for the actress were begging her to pursue what they felt were ‘tens of million of dollars’ she was entitled to through Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean profits
Heard was denied a request for a mistrial a week before – arguing that one of the jurors on the case shouldn’t have been eligible to serve because his summons was intended for his father, who had the same name and lived at the same address.
In June, the Aquaman star was ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million at the end of an explosive six-week trial, when a jury ruled she had defamed her ex-husband in a newspaper opinion piece published in 2018.
Depp, 59, received $15 million, including $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.
The judge later capped the damages at the state’s maximum of $350,000 leaving Depp with a total of $8.35million.
Meanwhile, Heard won one of her three countersuits claims related to statements made by Depp’s lawyer suggesting she and her friends trashed their apartment before calling the police.
Heard was rewarded $2 million in compensatory damages out of the $100million she asked for.
Amid the news of Heard’s appeals, Depp’s representatives told DailyMail.com last week that they are confident in the verdict.
Depp and Heard filed their appeals with the Virginia Court of Appeals
‘The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the 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,’ a spokesperson for Depp said.
A day after Heard’s team filed an appeal, Depp’s team filed one following him being ordered to pay $2 million in damages after he was convicted of a single count of defamation for saying the domestic abuse claims against him were false.
The Pirates of the Caribbean actor’s team said they filed an appeal to ensure ‘all information is considered by the court’ while they return to consider Heard’s appeal.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Defamation Trial Timeline
In March 2019, Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife, Amber Heard, for $50million after she wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post in 2018 saying she was abused by the Pirates of the Caribbean star. However, she never explicitly named Depp in the piece but wrote that she is ‘a public figure representing domestic abuse.’
In February 2020, audio recordings obtained by DailyMail.com, reveals heard admitting to hitting Depp. ‘I f**king was hitting you… I don’t know what the motion of my hand was, but you’re fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you,’ Heard said.
In January 2021, Heard countersued her ex-husband for $100million
On April 11, 2022, the six-week trial kicked off in Virginia to discuss the abuse allegations made throughout the couples relationship. The pair married in 2015 but divorced in 2017.
On April 20, 2022, Heard admitted to getting violent with Depp as audio recording of the actress were played
On May 4, 2022, Heard took the stand to recall romance with Depp before he allegedly abused her. The actress said the abuse dated back to 2013 when Depp allegedly sexually assaulted her.
On May 25, 2022, Depp testified again and claimed Heard’s allegations were false. He claimed he never abused his ex-wife
On June 1, 2022, the judge ruled in Depp won the defamation case against Heard subjecting her to pay The Pirates of the Caribbean star $10.3 million. The jury awarded Heard $2 million after Depp’s attorney said Heard and her friends de ella trashed her apartment before calling police.
On July 21, 2022, Heard appealed the judge’s decision in her defamation case against Depp – two months after she was subjected to pay $10million to her ex-husband in damages.
On July 22, 2022, Depp filed an appeal against his conviction for defaming Heard after calling the domestic abuse claims against him a ‘hoax’ – subjecting him to pay his ex-wife $2 million
.
