What if Amber doesn't pay compensation to Johnny?
Amber Heard has to pay multimillion-dollar damages to her ex-husband and actor Johnny Depp, but it is rumored that the actress does not have that money.
A jury in Fairfax, Virginia, ruled in a defamation lawsuit filed by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Amber was found guilty of defamation, and Johnny Depp will receive $ 15 million in damages. Depp first sued Heard for $ 50 million over a column she wrote in The Washington Post in 2018 in which she mentioned her experience with domestic violence. He claimed that although she did not name him in her text, her column obviously refers to him and damages his reputation and career.
Heard then filed a $ 100 million counterclaim, claiming she was defamed when Depp's attorney, Adam Waldman, publicly called her allegations of abuse 'fraud' and 'fake'.
After the trial of the ex-spouses was completed, the court ruled that the ex-wife Amber Heard must pay the actor $ 15 million in compensation, and he should pay her $ 2 million.
What if Amber doesn't pay?
"Although Heard could appeal the verdict, she would still have to pay bail for the full verdict of $ 10.35 million, plus interest," said Sandra Spurgeon, a lawyer from the Spurgeon Law Group in Lexington, Kentucky.
"For an individual who is unable to pay the amount determined by the judgment and is unable to issue the bond, a real problem arises if the winning person intends to enforce the judgment," Spurgeon told CBS MoneyWatch.
In Amber's statement, which she posted on social media after the verdict, Heard did not comment on the financial terms of the verdict .
View this post on Instagram
The actress has several options left after the verdict.
She can appeal
"As I have already said, Heard could appeal the verdict in the hope that she will get a more favorable verdict and reduce the amount of damages," said Spurgeon.
Enforcement
Legal experts say that if Heard decides not to appeal and doesn’t have enough money to pay damages, then her current and future income could be enforced.
"The question is if she says,‘ Look, I don’t have money, you can look at my bank accounts ’, then we can talk about things like the enforcement of her income. It’s not uncommon for someone to say, ‘I don’t have - I can’t fulfill this’,” said CBS News legal associate Jessica Levinson .
View this post on Instagram
She could declare bankruptcy and Depp waive monetary damages
"Heard also has the option to file for bankruptcy, which would eliminate $ 10 million in compensatory damages,” Spurgeon said. "But she would still have to pay $ 350,000 in damages, which are eliminated by bankruptcy. In addition, there is an option for Depp to decide not to execute the verdict and to waive the monetary compensation, " explained Spurgeon.
"Right now he is managing the situation," the lawyer says, adding that Depp could also negotiate a lower amount of compensation with Heard. In his comment on Instagram after the verdict, Depp did not indicate whether he intends to initiate a monetary verdict against Heard. He wrote that ‘the aim of instituting this case was to uncover the truth, whatever the outcome’.
‘ I feel at peace knowing that I have finally achieved this,’ he added.
