Heard and Depp lock in the rematch

HOLLYWOOD stars Amber Heard and Johnny Depp are set to return in the sequel to their summer blockbuster after lawyers filed a notice to appeal the court’s defamation verdict.

The two-page “notice of intent to appeal” filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia does not reveal the basis for the appeal, but indicates Heard’s plan to officially challenge the $10.35 million ($A15m) ruling.

In addition to appealing the verdict, Heard’s team said they will also appeal decisions on post-trial motions and “all additional orders and rulings by the trial court”.

They have until September 5 to file their motion for appeal.

A spokesperson for Heard said in a statement that they believe “the court made errors that prevented a just and fair verdict consistent with the First Amendment.”

“We are therefore appealing the verdict,” the statement said.

“While we realise today’s filing will ignite the Twitter bonfires, there are steps we need to take to ensure both fairness and justice.”

A spokesperson for Depp, meanwhile, suggested they weren’t worried the result would change.

“The jury listened to the extensive evidence presented during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous verdict that the defendant herself defamed Mr Depp in multiple instances,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“We remain confident in our case and that this verdict will stand.”

The notice to appeal comes a week after all of Heard’s post-trial motions were rejected and she was denied a new trial.

In post-trial motions, Heard’s legal team challenged the verdict on several grounds, including the case of the juror’s mistaken identity.

Defence lawyers had asked Judge Penney Azcarate to set aside the verdict awarding $10.35 million to the Pirates of the Caribbean star because one of the seven jurors was not the man summoned for service.

But Judge Azcarate said there was no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing in the mix-up, and the juror met the statutory requirements for service.

The denial means Heard must now formally appeal the decision if she hopes to avoid the payout, which comes to a balance of $8.35 million ($A12m) after accounting for the $2m ruling in her favour.

The seven-member jury awarded damages to Depp after finding that a 2018 newspaper article penned by Amber Heard on her experience of “sexual violence” was defamatory.

THE COURT MADE ERRORS THAT PREVENTED A JUST AND FAIR VERDICT CONSISTENT WITH THE FIRST AMENDMENT

AMBER HEARD SPOKESPERSON