Johnny Depp has been required by the court to attend the deposition in the defamation lawsuit he filed against Amber Heard. He was asked to sit down with his ex-wife’s lawyers even while filming for the Fantastic Beasts movie.
Based on the court order issued in Fairfax County dated Oct. 15, Johnny Depp needs to appear before the council for the defendant’s offices in Virginia.
The court ruling on Depp’s deposition
Virginia Circuit Court Chief Judge Bruce White asked the actor to attend the deposition for three consecutive days.
The dates are from Nov. 10 to Nov. 12, and he is supposed to show up at 10 a.m. for the three schedules. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was also ordered to pay for the cost of filing this motion.
“Counsel for Defendant shall submit to the court a declaration of fees and costs associated with bringing this Motion before the court and appearing at the deposition, within 7 days,” the statement in the court document reads.
It was added, “The plaintiff shall pay to counsel for Defendant the amount set by the court within 7 days after receipt of the court’s ruling on reasonableness.”
Currently, Johnny Depp is in England and filming for the third movie sequel of the Fantastic Beasts. The deposition will obviously delay the shooting schedules of the movie so the actor may counter this order.
But then again, as reported by Deadline, there is no word from Johnny Depp’s camp yet if they are planning to fight the ruling.
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The defamation lawsuit involving Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
This defamation case was filed by the 57-year-old actor last year. He is seeking $50 million for the damages caused to him after Amber Heard wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post.
She claimed that her ex-husband beat her up and insisted she is a victim of domestic violence.
The court hearing was moved from January to May 2021 due to Depp’s movie filming overseas, plus there is the COVID-19 pandemic too.
This new order from the judge was the result of Heard’s legal team’s insistence on their need to talk to Johnny Depp on or before Oct. 30.
They reasoned that the deposition is to give them time to plan for their defense in the upcoming May 2021 trial.
The trial was originally set for January, but Johnny Depp’s legal team requested the date to be moved due to the filming. The production is expected to end in mid-February next year; thus, the judge sets the new date to May.
Meanwhile, Amber Heard filed a countersuit for Johhny Depp’s $50 million defamation case. Since the court dismissed her request to dismiss the case, she just filed for a counter.
The ex-couple is also awaiting the verdict in the actor’s libel trial against the UK’s The Sun newspaper.
Featured Image Courtesy of 60 Minutes/YouTube Screenshot