Amber Heard wants her defamation ruling against ex-husband Johnny Depp to be declared a mistrial over "newly discovered facts and information" about one of the jurors.
As reported by PEOPLE, in new documents filed with the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, the 36-year-old Aquaman star's legal team claims that the wrong juror showed to the highly-publicized defamation trial between the two stars.
Depp's case against his ex-wife stemmed from statements Heard had made in her 2018 op-ed published by The Washington Post.
In the piece, Heard referred to herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse." Depp's lawyers said that the article defamed him and ruined his career and reputation - even though he was never mentioned by name.
After six weeks, the long-running defamation trial concluded on June 1, with the Virginia jury unanimously siding with Depp and awarding him a total of $10.35 million in damages. Heard was awarded $2 million in her counterclaim.
However, Heard's team is now alleging that there was a mix-up over Juror No. 15 and has stated that their client is entitled to a mistrial.
The documents state that "newly discovered facts and information" show that "Juror No. 15 was not the individual summoned for jury duty on April 11, 2022."
According to Heard's lawyers, the person who was supposed to be Juror No. 15 was 77 years old at the time, and shares the same last name and address as someone who was 52. But the actress' legal team claims that it was actually the younger person who turned up to court to serve as the juror in the trial - not the 77-year-old.
Heard's lawyers state in the filing: "It is deeply troubling for an individual not summoned for jury duty nonetheless to appear for jury duty and serve on a jury, especially in a such as this" - highlighting the "high-profile" status of the Depp v. Heard trial, "where the fact and date of the jury trial were highly publicized prior to and after the issuance of the juror summonses."
PEOPLE adds that Fairfax County's selected jurors are registered voters in the area and both individuals' details such as their names, birthdays, and address, are included in voter registration information.
Now, Heard's team wants the actress to be provided the proper "due process" she deserves, and therefore want a mistrial to be ruled and "a new trial ordered".
The filing comes a little more than a week after Heard's team requested a new trial altogether.
In documents filed on July 1, Heard's legal team argued in a lengthy filing that the original ruling in the defamation trial had several issues, including inadequate reasoning, an improper jury, and excessively awarded damages.
Attorney Elaine Bredehoft argued in the documents that the case was based on faulty legal logic, arguing that Depp’s claims "proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false".
Bredehoft also argued that Depp’s legal team initially said that the highly-publicized case would focus on the period after Heard's 2018 op-ed was published, but instead it included events and statements from back in 2016.
Another section examines the fact that Heard's op-ed doesn't name the actor, an argument that was repeatedly made during the defamation trial.
Bredehoft further explained that Depp isn't entitled to damages for any conduct before the op-ed, while it also indicates "the verdicts on the complaint and counterclaim are inconsistent and therefore should be set aside," and that Depp "did not present evidence of actual malice".
Bredehoft concluded by stating: "Ms. Heard respectfully requests this Court to set aside the jury verdict in favor of Mr. Depp and against Ms. Heard in its entirety, dismiss the Complaint, or in the alternative, order a new trial.
"Ms. Heard further requests this Court to investigate potential improper juror service and take appropriate action warranted by the results of the investigation."
