After the Heard VS Depp trial in June 2022, actress, Amber Heard, 36, was found to have defamed ex-husband, Johnny Depp in a newspaper opinion piece that was published in 2018. She was therefore ordered to pay him more than $10 million in damages. In her appeal of that ruling, David L. Axelrod and Jay Ward Brown are currently her attorneys.
According to Puck News, the actress has just added Kirk Pasich to her legal team to convince many insurance providers to pay her legal fees, which could total more than $15 million. Puck asserts that before the Virginia trial, Heard’s spending increased by nearly $8 million.
Amber Heard Battles To Avoid Court Case Debt: Hires Another Attorney
Heard’s team seems to seek to cover such costs through homeowner’s insurance. There is a dispute between Travelers Commercial Insurance Company and New York Marine General Insurance Company. Travellers sued New York Marine in July 2021 to recoup payment for the percentage of defence costs that Heard ultimately covered.
Heard had received a general liability insurance coverage from New York Marine for $1 million, while her homeowner’s policy with Travelers only covered “libel” to roughly $500,000. The key argument in the complaint was that New York Marine considered the situation to be “pretty plain forward,” but Travelers believed Heard had the right to select her attorneys.
The judge agreed with New York Marine’s request to use more affordable local attorneys. Travellers said that the counsel appointed to represent New York Marine Timothy McEvoy and Sean Patrick Roche “piggybacked” on the efforts of Heard lawyers Roberta Kaplan and Elaine Charlson Bredehoft.
However, New York Marine claimed that Kaplan and Bredehoft had barred their attorneys from defending them. They now demand a refund of the $621,693 they gave to Heard’s defence fund because their lawyers were not allowed to participate in multiple court proceedings. The Insurers are currently suing Heard to avoid contributing to the $10.35 million libel settlement that the Aquaman star must pay Depp.
They are following California law, which prohibits insurers from covering “willful acts,” doing this. Pasich is representing Heard in this matter and trying to resolve it on her behalf. If the verdict is upheld despite her appeal, double jeopardy for Heard as she may be held liable for the total amount awarded because Travelers would try to avoid paying it if Depp could show she lied about something.
Depp, 59, received $10 to $15 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive penalties after the defamation trial. Later, the judge limited the damages to the state’s maximum of $350,000, leaving Depp with a total of $8.35 million.
