The Lawsuits Thread

[Judymac]

Imagery is a powerful communication tool. Watching Amber Heard going to court, sitting on the witness stand while answering tough questions is important because the impact of seeing the woman in court photos or video will speak volumes. Having daily media coverage of a trial will alter public opinion tremendously with the emphasis on exposing Amber Heard's hoax. The point being that this type of publicity will work against her just as she used it to work for her. Only this time she's going to court, not with fake bruises but as one who is accused of conspiracy, fraud and physical abuse. Amber Heard has always used visuals, either with photos or video to manipulate public opinion. Therefore, the public should be privileged to watch her squirm and bumble answers to questions directed at her from Adam Waldman and associates who will expose her lies. A well publicized court trial ending with a "guilty as charged" Amber Heard would accomplish more than vindication for Johnny. It will be the beginning of Amber Heard's punishment and the end to her career.

Yes I would like to see Amber Heard on the witness stand. She could not produce real tears during her deposition. She made noises like she was going to cry but there were no tears. Not only will everyone realize that she is a liar they will know that she is also a terrible actor.

[RumLover]

I totally expect to see Amber Heard on the witness stand in Virginia. In that case, she is the defendant. I don't expect a settlement in that case. An apology where she admitted all her actions would likely take hundreds of pages and it is not her personality to do that.

I am less sure of her appearing in The Sun case in UK. She is not the defendant. I have not seen anything that says she spoke directly to the Sun; it seems there was a metoo representative as intermediary. She does not want to appear in UK and I am not sure that she can be forced even if she can be fined for non-attendance.

I fully expect that the Sun will have to apologize and admit their story was false. I don't see that it would be less believable in a settlement agreement than if ordered by a judge's finding. Depp does not have to settle with terms less than he would expect to receive from a court ruling. I have some concern that if it goes to court and Heard doesn't arrive for her time in the witness box (think 2016 depositions), then some could question whether The Sun had opportunity to make their truth case. (I do not think this as they published without her direct input so they can't really rely on her to defend them.)

We still have to wait days to learn if the Virginia court will accept or decline Heard's motion to dismiss. Obviously a Virginia dismissal would change all expectations about what happens.

[nebraska]

There seems to be an expectation here that Johnny will win if the case goes to trial. Unfortunately, being right does not always mean you will win a case. It is always a big gamble. A settlement would be a sure thing.

[justintime]

There seems to be an expectation here that Johnny will win if the case goes to trial. Unfortunately, being right does not always mean you will win a case. It is always a big gamble. A settlement would be a sure thing.

. . . He needs his name cleared and in such a way that it reaches the tiniest corners of media. I hope this goes to trial and JD wins the initial amount plus major damages. News Corp is currently trying to overturn the court's decision, but Geoffrey Rush won his defamation suit vs The Telegraph and was awarded the initial amount requested plus $2.9 million in damages. I think Johnny has been harmed much more than Geoffrey. The money could help pay his legal expenses, which must now be in the millions.

You are right about one thing for sure, nebraska: right does not always mean you will win a case.

However, given all the pertinent, sworn and authenticated evidence Johnny has submitted and witnesses he can call upon, I think the extended visual and opportunity for public scrutiny a trial provides would work in Johnny’s favor. Further, the real life effort to establish defamation - in this case trying to prove a negative - is as safe a bet as anyone could possibly hope for: he is not a wife beater, was never the abusive party in the marriage, and, indeed, Johnny was the victim. The information was out there for any writer, journalist, or reporter worth a damn to find, read, and realize their accusation could not be verified. It should never have been printed. Arrogant b——ds went ahead anyway and as a result an innocent man has been running a no-holds-barred, harrowing media gauntlet for the past four years of his life.

On the other hand, the only sure thing about a settlement is there is some sort of resolution to the lawsuit. But, I would argue, in this particular instance it is the one avenue where justice is least likely to make an appearance. As I mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread, I don’t think Johnny has been well-served in one crucial aspect of the settlements he has been a party to the last few years: the terms of the agreements were not always made public and even when they were, the media chose to undermine Johnny at every turn. In fact, related articles have often suggested Johnny settled in order to avoid the release of “more damaging” evidence! The horror of the “divorce settlement”, riddled with lies and, unbelievably, hidden evidence, just escalated the impact of myriad forces working against Johnny; in the TMG lawsuit, most people still don’t realize Johnny mopped the floor with TMG - and rightly so - even though the parties “settled”; the Rocky fiasco during the City of Lies filming was “settled” but the damage to Johnny’s reputation was done, his widely perceived inappropriate on-set behavior lingers to this day, and no public outrage on his behalf ensued.

As Ruby Begonia has said, Johnny needs his name cleared. Settlement or jury trial, Johnny’s name must be cleared. But cleared in such a way that every media resource, seedy tabloid or epitome of journalistic respectability, roars the decision and prints the verdict/settlement terms again and again if need be. Alone. Front page. As someone said yesterday, “above the fold.” Camera shot of the court order/settlement regardless of the number of pages needed. No reinterpretation by the experts for the masses. A sincere apology would be welcome, but for rags like The SUN and columnists like Mr. Wootton, the author of the offending piece, it would likely be spit out with nary a shudder. Johnny didn’t ask for much - 200,000£ - clearly monetary compensation was not the driving force behind his suit. BUT he did request “an injunction restraining the paper from continuing to publish allegations of spousal abuse” AND “damages to be assessed by the court”. The latter is where some semblance of justice can - and must - be wrought. And it is precisely this award, these damages, if honestly and thoroughly assessed, that could send out the needed message. Big numbers with dollar signs speak very loudly and need little interpretation, by either side.

[Quin55]

Thoughtful insights from everyone...hopefully the legal team's plan includes holding a media/press conference post-verdict in both cases, with Johnny present to draw the attention, even if his lawyer makes the statement and answers the questions. This was an international story when he was accused, it should be an international story when he finally gets justice. Please God!

[hollyberry]

My cousin holidays regularly at the same hotel in the UK Lake District. On the wall they keep a collection of autographed pictures of celebrities who've visited. She was stunned to see Johnny amongst them. The hotel owner quietly told her he was the nicest of all their famous guests and the only one who refused any money for his autograph. He also told my cousin that he and all his staff flatly refused to believe that he was abusive to his wife.
Much as I despise Heard what's important isn't whether she gets justice or not..... it's clearing Johnny's name. I hate that he was labelled an abuser. That evidence now reveals he was the victim makes it even harder.

[RumLover]

Is City of Lies Rocky case settled? I thought that although the director and producers reached a settlement, Depp refused and it is going to court in September.

[meeps]

Thank you ever so very much for telling us that, Hollyberry I love it

[reindeermoon]

Isn't the date for the Rocky case in September?
This smear campaign has to be stopped. I hope that Johnny gets justice and that woman and her friends will disappear. Each movie had problems and the critics love to tear Johnny down and distroy his work and the work from all the others in those movies.
Often they have articles about Johnny playing with the Hollywood Vampires and include pics of that woman with her bruise. It really is time he gets justice and it would be a victory for all other men who have been abused by their wifes and could not find justice.

[justintime]

Is City of Lies Rocky case settled? I thought that although the director and producers reached a settlement, Depp refused and it is going to court in September.

Apologies, RumLover, I inexcusably confused the Rocky case with the two bodyguards case. Gregg (Rocky) Brooks only filed for dismissal vs Brad Furman, Good Films Productions US Inc., and Miriam Segal. He dropped parts of his lawsuit against Johnny as well, but was still pursuing his claims of assault and battery. The case vs JD (and Nihil) is still pending. Thanks for the correction and for the additional information: I didn’t know the case is ongoing due to Johnny’s refusal to settle or about the September court date.

It was the two bodyguards case - claims of exposure to “unsafe conditions” and “illegal substances” - that was settled. No details of this settlement were released.

[PaulKemp]

A thread on Twitter from Brian McPherson another witness speaks up, this time about the incident where Amber claims Johnny was about to push her sister from the stairs.

[ForeverYoung]

A thread on Twitter from Brian McPherson another witness speaks up, this time about the incident where Amber claims Johnny was about to push her sister from the stairs.

Punching Johnny in the eye is bad enough but if it was his bad eye that's even worse.

[Ruby Begonia]

A thread on Twitter from Brian McPherson another witness speaks up, this time about the incident where Amber claims Johnny was about to push her sister from the stairs.

The witness, Johnny's security guard Travis, stated that Johnny called him over to the penthouse in the pre-dawn hours of March 23, 2015, and asked him to bring nurse Debbie, who'd been monitoring his finger surgery recovery. Amber was accusing Johnny of having an affair. Was the nurse called over to attest that she wasn't having an affair with Johnny or because Johnny needed medical care? Anyway, Johnny's injured hand is in a cast. Amber threw and hit Johnny in the back with a can of Redbull, SPIT on him, and threw her purse at him, but Travis intercepted it before it could hit JD. Then she punched him in the eye. Amber was probably trying to bait Johnny into hitting her so she could charge him with dv and divorce him. She had already been entertaining Musk in the condos by then per building staff.

[Judymac]

A thread on Twitter from Brian McPherson another witness speaks up, this time about the incident where Amber claims Johnny was about to push her sister from the stairs.

The witness, Johnny's security guard Travis, stated that Johnny called him over to the penthouse in the pre-dawn hours of March 23, 2015, and asked him to bring nurse Debbie, who'd been monitoring his finger surgery recovery. Amber was accusing Johnny of having an affair. Was the nurse called over to attest that she wasn't having an affair with Johnny or because Johnny needed medical care? Anyway, Johnny's injured hand is in a cast. Amber threw and hit Johnny in the back with a can of Redbull, SPIT on him, and threw her purse at him, but Travis intercepted it before it could hit JD. Then she punched him in the eye. Amber was probably trying to bait Johnny into hitting her so she could charge him with dv and divorce him. She had already been entertaining Musk in the condos by then per building staff.

There is a tactic of abusers to accuse the other person of doing the things that the abuser is doing. She accuses Johnny of having an affair, when she is the one having affairs. She is seeing Elon Musk, James Franco and who knows who else. She accuses Johnny of physical violence when she was the one committing physical violence on him. Amber Heard is a master of manipulation.

[justintime]

I’ve read through Mr. McPherson’s new thread including Mr. McGivern’s draft statement. I agree with the assessment that all testimony given to date (including AH’s) indicates there was no physical violence on Johnny’s part. But AH does not state Johnny was physically violent, rather that it was his so-called “advancing” on her adult ”baby” sister, Whitney, at the top of the stairs that she uses to justify her punching Johnny in the eye. Since Mr. McGivern saw the punch (as well as the rest of AH’s disgusting tirade) and does not reference any life-threatening behavior on Johnny’s part leading up to AH’s assault or need for his professional intervention - and since we have no corroborating testimony from the “baby”sister - can we assume this is yet another hideous fabrication by the stellar liar-in-chief?

This was an event - one that ultimately resulted in yet more physical injury to Johnny - that AH has riddled with a scenario designed to garner both sympathy and support for whatever her reaction may have been. I think it might be extremely helpful to have eye-witness testimony specifically debunking AH’s “recollection” of the stairway portion of this incident. Or, am I just way off base here?