Lawyers for Johnny Depp move to appeal UK court ruling that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard

LONDON — Lawyers for Johnny Depp moved to overturn a British court ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife, Amber Heard, by arguing Thursday that Heard did not donate all of her $7 million divorce settlement to charity as she claimed.

The Hollywood star is seeking permission to appeal the November verdict in his libel lawsuit against The Sun newspaper for labeling him a "wife beater" in an April 2018 article. Depp lost the case following a three-week trial in July.

Now he argues he did not receive a fair trial and is offering "fresh evidence" he says could have affected the trial verdict. 

High Court Justice Andrew Nicol ruled that lawyers for Sun publisher News Group Newspapers proved during the trial that the allegations against Depp, made in a April 2018 article, were "substantially true."

The judge ruled that Depp, 57, assaulted Heard, 34, on a dozen occasions and put her in fear for her life three times. 

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On Thursday, during a video conferenced hearing at the Court of Appeal, Depp's lawyers argued for an appeal based on what they said was fresh evidence that Heard did not donate the entire amount of her $7 million divorce settlement to two charities, as she told reporters she would in 2016 and as she later testified.

Lawyer Andrew Caldecott said Heard's claim she donated the entire amount was a “calculated and manipulative lie." He told a two-judge appeals court panel that Heard's claims gave her a "considerable boost to her credibility as a person" and that they had "tipped the scales against Mr. Depp from the very beginning."

"It's a false plus to her and a false minus to him," he told the judge.

The couple divorced in 2016 after a contentious divorce proceeding in Los Angeles. In August, they settled and issued a joint statement:

"Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love. Neither party has made false accusations for financial gain. There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future. Amber will be donating financial proceeds from the divorce to a charity." 

Caldecott alleged that one of Heard's supposed charitable beneficiaries, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, wrote to Depp's business adviser in 2019 to say Heard had not made any payments.

Caldecott also argued that the trial judge unfairly rejected evidence unfavorable to Heard during last year's trial. He said the judge should have placed more importance on recordings in which Heard appeared to admit to assaulting Depp when she was heard saying “I can't promise I won't get physical again."

Her “promise about future conduct suggests that this is not necessarily a one-off," the lawyer said.

Lawyers for The Sun's publisher rejected the arguments, saying Heard did not lie about the donations because she was pledging to pay the sums over 10 years. She had made “a number of payments already in pursuance of these pledges," said Adam Wolanski, representing News Group Newspapers. 

"Therefore there is nothing wrong, let alone dishonest, as to her description of what she has done," Wolanski said. "The (trial) judge found she made a gift of 'donations,' not 'payments,' so what he found she had done was correct. There is no suggestion that fraud has been perpetrated (on the court)."

Besides, he said, Depp's British lawyers should have been able to obtain documents about the charity donations before the July trial, so they could cross-examine Heard about the issue when she took the stand. The idea that this material would have helped Depp and hurt Heard was "fanciful," Wolanski said. 

"This material would have made no difference at all to the credibility of Ms. Heard," he said.

Wolanski added that "even if the judge had had the fresh evidence and decided it did demonstrate that Ms. Heard was a gold-digger,” that did not mean she had not been assaulted.

The two judges at the Court of Appeal said they would not make a decision about the appeal Thursday, but would issue a written ruling soon.

During last year's trial, the judge – and the public – heard lurid accounts from Depp and Heard in which each accused the other of abuse during their relationship even prior to their 2015 marriage.

Nicol accepted Heard's claim that she feared for her life on several occasions, including during what Heard described as a “three-day hostage situation” in Australia in March 2015 while Depp was filming a “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.

The judge found that 12 of the 14 instances of domestic violence cited had occurred and said that was sufficient to rule against Depp in his libel suit against the newspaper.

Depp acknowledged wide-ranging drug problems but accused Heard of making up abuse allegations and insisted he was “not a violent person, especially with women."

His lawyers argued that the allegations caused “serious harm" to the actor's reputation and “significant distress and embarrassment.”

Neither Depp nor Heard were present for the Court of Appeals hearing in London. 

Contributing: Maria Puente, USA TODAY