Johnny Depp’s bid to overturn a damning ruling that he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard and put her in fear for her life will be considered by the Court of Appeal next month.
The actor is now challenging that ruling and his application for permission to appeal against it will be heard in March.
Following the high-profile trial, Mr Justice Nicol ruled against Mr Depp, but the actor claims he “did not receive a fair trial”.
In documents filed with the Court of Appeal, Mr Depp’s barrister David Sherborne has asked the court to “set aside the judgment and order a new trial”, claiming Mr Justice Nicol’s judgment is “plainly wrong” and "failed to examine the competing accounts of each incident, or to explain whether he found them proved and, if so, on what basis”.
They also argue that “the judge should have analysed the extent to which Ms Heard’s evidence undermined her credibility in relation to her allegations of physical assault/injury” and “took little or no account of the striking examples of Ms Heard’s willingness to lie or commit wrongdoing”.
In an order issued on Monday, Lord Justice Underhill said Mr Depp’s application for permission to appeal should be considered at a hearing, “if possible between March 15 and 31”.
The judge said an application by Mr Depp’s lawyers to rely on new evidence, which was not heard at the trial, would also be dealt with at the same hearing.