“THE COURT IS NOT PERSUADED BY DEFENDANT (A. Heard)’S ARGUMENT THAT PLAINTIFF (J. Depp) HAD A FULL AND FAIR OPPORTUNITY TO LITIGATE THE UK ACTION. DEFENDANT WAS NOT A PARTY IN THE UK ACTION AND WAS NOT TREATED AS ONE"
Johnny Depp's two-year-old defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard will not be dismissed, a Virginia judge ruled Tuesday, meaning the case is set to proceed to a trial next year.
Fairfax County Chief Judge Penney Azcarate rejected Heard's motion to dismiss the case.
Heard tried to get the Virginia lawsuit thrown out citing the ruling of a London judge last year in a libel lawsuit Depp filed against the publisher of The Sun tabloid.
Virginia's Judge Azcarate concluded that the two cases were not the same – Heard was not a party in the London lawsuit, although she was a witness for The Sun – and thus her argument for dismissal failed under well-established legal precedents governing when civil cases can be dismissed.
"Defendant's claim that refusing to recognize the U.K. Judgment in this case would set a dangerous precedent is unfounded," Azcarate said in her opinion. "If anything, upholding English libel judgments in the United States would create the chilling effect and could create a dangerous precedent. Accordingly, this Court is unpersuaded by Defendant's argument."
“Mr. Depp is most gratified by the Court’s decision,” said Depp's lawyer, Benjamin Chew of Brown Rudnick in Washington D.C.