Johnny Depp could appeal assaults ruling

Judge found that star was violent to ex

JOHNNY DEPP may appeal against a “perverse and bewildering” High Court ruling which concluded that he assaulted ex- wife Amber Heard.

The 57- year- old unsuccessfully sued The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers ( NGN), over a 2018 article which labelled him a “wife beater”.

It was the biggest English libel trial of the 21st century as the Hollywood star brought legal action over the column by the newspaper’s executive editor, Dan Wootton, which referred to “overwhelming evidence” that the actor attacked Ms Heard, 34, during their relationship.

In a ruling yesterday, Mr Justice Nicol dismissed the Pirates Of The Caribbean star’s claim, saying NGN had proved what was in the article to be “substantially true”.

He found that Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a dozen occasions, putting her in “fear for her life” during three of them.

In a statement after the ruling, Mr Depp’s solicitor, Jenny Afia, from Schillings law firm, said: “This decision is as perverse as it is bewildering.

“Most troubling is the judge’s reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter- evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point.

“All of this was overlooked.

The judgment is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision.”

In the ruling, Mr Justice Nicol said: “I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard.”

The judge said he was “not persuaded” that an alleged “incident of violence” in Los Angeles in December 2014 “constituted a physical assault of Ms Heard by Mr Depp”.

He also said he could not rule that an alleged incident in LA in November 2015 had been proven because it was not put to Mr Depp in cross- examination.

However, he found that 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence relied on by NGN did occur.

The judge found that Mr Depp put Ms Heard “in fear of her life” during what the actress described as a “three- day hostage situation” in Australia in March 2015.

He also said he accepted that a further “confidential” allegation made against Mr Depp regarding the incident in Australia had happened.

Mr Justice Nicol found that Ms Heard was in fear for her life during incidents on the Eastern and Oriental Express in South East Asia in August 2015 and again in LA in December of the same year.

Mr Justice Nicol also said “a recurring theme in Mr Depp’s evidence was that Ms Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an ‘ insurance policy’”, and that Ms Heard was a “gold- digger”.

But he added: “I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard.”

The judge also said that Ms Heard donating her $ 7m (£ 5.4m) settlement to charity was “hardly the act one would expect of a gold- digger”.

As the trial drew to a close, Ms Heard stood outside on the steps of the High Court and said she stood by her evidence and would “place her faith in British justice”.

I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard. Mr Justice Nicol on allegations that Amber Heard was a ‘ gold- digger’.