VA - Johnny Depp's defamation case against ex Amber Heard, who countersued #2

[fred&edna]

She’s only worth $8mil.

Maybe she will coo and EM will fall for "filling more space" with her... which we now know means covering her obligations (and/or buying ambassadorships).

 

[MimosaMornings]

DBM

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

Recap: The ACLU and Amber Heard

Before court restarts, here's a bit of a recap on that last testimony from American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chief operating officer and general counsel Terence Dougherty.

The ACLU is one of two organisations Amber Heard pledged to donate her $7m divorce settlement from Johnny Depp to and she became an ambassador on women's rights for the organisation in 2018.

Depp has accused her of lying about the amount she has donated from her settlement and the court heard today that the ACLU has so far received $1.3m in direct and indirect payments, not the full $3.5m pledged.

Depp's lawyer Ben Chew questioned Mr Dougherty on this and he told the court Heard has not made any payments since 2018 and that he learned she was facing financial difficulties.

Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft pointed out the timing of when payments stopped - after Depp filed his lawsuit against the actress.

This is a $50m defamation trial - an expensive business!

Mr Dougherty was also questioned about the ACLU's involvement in Heard's Washington Post op-ed, which is the article at the heart of this case and was published as her involvement as an ambassador for the union was announced.

The court was told that it was actually a staff member at the ACLU who wrote the first draft of the article for Heard's approval and that there were conversations involving lawyers about references to Depp and their marriage.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Maybe she will coo and EM will fall for "filling more space" with her... which we now know means covering her obligations (and/or buying ambassadorships).

That was some really good questioning, wasn’t it? I’m still catching up…

in retrospect, it seems like a bit of a catch-22; either Aquaman spurs interest for the largely unknown to comic book movie audiences AH, in which case there becomes interest in her past life and people care about the WaPo editorial BUTtttttt… in turn, this means Johnny can’t escape the spotlight, OR…

the ACLU was so impressed by the backing of girl-crazy Elon Musk of AH, that they assumed/were convinced she would be important in the upcoming months to years as the future Musk squeeze; and thus they couldn’t afford to offend extant-donor Musk and his money, once he’s shown he’s willing to pony up half a mill for her.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

Amber Heard up next week?

According to Court TV, which is streaming the case live around the world, Amber Heard will begin her testimony on Monday.

Judge Penney Azcarate is likely to give her roughly the same time as Depp, so she could be on the witness stand for a few days.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft pointed out the timing of when payments stopped - after Depp filed his lawsuit against the actress.

that’s a little disingenuous of the reporters at Sky (?) not to mention the huge portion of that payment the ACLU got from Elon Musk’s account and from Johnny Depp’s account, isn’t it?

I mean, those are not ‘Amber’s donations’ in the same way Bredehoft means (AH cozened them out of a man); and Bredehoft also does not say ‘plus, neither of JD or EM was going to contribute one dime in her name going forward, so the ACLU could no longer even count on that’.

 

[ar3593]

Are all of these people just not available or why non stop video depos in this trial? Is this how civil cases are done? So few in person witnesses makes for a long boring day....thanks to Alejandro for the comic relief today.

Johnny's divorce attorney; Laura Wasser, is a very high-profile divorce attorney in Hollywood, one of the best! Laura has represented clients such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum, Maria Shriver et al. in their divorces. MOO

From Aerobics Class to the Courtroom: How Laura Wasser Became Hollywood's Go-To Divorce Lawyer - E! Online

 

[squareandrabbet]

Johnny's divorce attorney; Laura Wasser, is a very high-profile divorce attorney in Hollywood, one of the best! Laura has represented clients such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum, Maria Shriver et al. in their divorces. MOO

From Aerobics Class to the Courtroom: How Laura Wasser Became Hollywood's Go-To Divorce Lawyer - E! Online

I thought she was a very cool customer. Were i an attorney, I would hope to be half as attractively steely, lol.

 

[shotgun09]

Johnny's divorce attorney; Laura Wasser, is a very high-profile divorce attorney in Hollywood, one of the best! Laura has represented clients such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Kim Kardashian, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum, Maria Shriver et al. in their divorces. MOO

From Aerobics Class to the Courtroom: How Laura Wasser Became Hollywood's Go-To Divorce Lawyer - E! Online

I hope peeps here get this, but when I was watching Ms Laura being questioned by Elaine B, with her calm and calculated responses, I was instantly reminded of these words...."You know nothing, John Snow"

 

[ar3593]

Boy this is a long drawn out deal about some "pledge" which frankly has no basis for legal enforcement. Time to move on in this case to AH's case and close the case out. AH is not the first person who "pledges" money and then either changes their priorities or has cash problems. I guess all this time spent on this really a waste.

While I would agree with this statement in different and most situations, however, in this case, there is a basis for legal enforcement. AH agreed to donate the monies as part of her divorce settlement with JD which is indeed a legal-binding document.

MOO

 

[squareandrabbet]

While I would agree with this statement in different and most situations, however, in this case, there is a basis for legal enforcement. AH agreed to donate the monies as part of her divorce settlement with JD which is indeed a legal-binding document.

MOO

for me this doesn’t really matter, and it’s more of just getting across the principle of the thing in public perception.

AH’s whole contention is ‘I am not a gold digger, and I did not marry Johnny Depp nor try to hold him in the marriage for pecuniary gain’; and penny-pinching vis-a-vis donations she gladly and grandiosely over-proclaimed and over-pledged in the abstract, is not so
much the point.

IMO, a response of ‘I will do, as I always have done over the course of my life, as much as my finances and energy allow to be a voice for the less fortunate’, I don’t think anyone would have disagreed with; but IMO she was more interested in one-upping JD in grand gestures, than she was in anything approximating reality; and unfortunately as they say in Texas, thereby revealed and betrayed herself to be ‘all hat and no cattle’ with regards to her intentions.

where I come from, you don’t play Lady Bountiful with money you cadge from others.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Sky News

Amber Heard up next week?

According to Court TV, which is streaming the case live around the world, Amber Heard will begin her testimony on Monday.

Judge Penney Azcarate is likely to give her roughly the same time as Depp, so she could be on the witness stand for a few days.

This should be rich.......IMO of course

 

[Chelly]

@Allabouttrial Many thanks for posting the Sky News reporting.

 

[squareandrabbet]

This should be rich.......IMO of course

I’m quite looking forward to hearing expert analysis of her IMO often odd facial and body language reactions to things.

On the other hand, my ears are already cringing imagining the misinterpretations of the LAPD, etc. actions that Elaine B may be intending to foist off upon us; which should be interesting.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

Next witness...

First up this afternoon is Edward White, who is giving his testimony in person and has taken the stand.

He tells the court he lives in Los Angeles and is the founder of accounting company Edward White & Company.

He says they work for about 100 high net-worth individuals and also for government agencies such as the Department of Justice (DoJ).

He tells the court about his qualifications, which include being certified in financial forensics.

Asked if he has ever testified in court before, he says he is accepted as an expert witness in both the California court and federal courts and has testified in matters involving the DoJ and the FBI.

 

[BUF]

White seems like a straight arrow.

 

[Chelly]

By reading the posts here every day, I get the sense that most posters were well versed in the AH/JD relationship way before this trial began. Thus, opinions had already been formed.

I knew nothing of AH when this trial started and don't follow celebrity news, so it's been easy to have an open mind. Having said that, I innocently have deduced that nearly everyone following this trial is on team-Johnny. Looking forward to next week's testimony.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

The money meeting before Heard's 30th

Edward White is now being asked about Johnny Depp.

He tells the court the actor was introduced to him by a senior banking executive and his company is now Depp's business management firm.

They have worked with Depp for about six years, he says, managing his financial affairs, which is something they do for numerous clients.

He says initially they were brought on board to help Depp conduct his financial affairs in a more advantageous matter.

Mr White says he called a meeting on 21 April 2016 to discuss his affairs and provide him with plans to "resolve the issues he was confronting".

The court has previously been told about this session - it was the meeting that caused Depp to be late for Amber Heard's 30th birthday party.

The meeting lasted about two hours and Depp thanked Mr White "profusely" for addressing his problems and was "excited" that there were plans in place to help get through them.

Mr White tells the court Depp was "actively" involved in the conversation and asked "thoughtful" and "prudent" questions.

 

[shotgun09]

JD's "wine bill" has gone to almost zero. Per Mr White

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

'More than $7m'

The jury hears that Edward White, Johnny Depp's business manager, was also involved in the actor's divorce.

Amber Heard was initially looking for $4m but her demand "increased" several times, he tells the court.

Mr White is asked if he had personal involvement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the two charities that Heard pledged to donate her $7m divorce settlement to.

Depp directed him to contribute $100,000 to each, Mr White says.

He then details the payments made to Heard by Depp for the divorce settlement, saying she received the final instalment in February 2018.

However, he tells the court that Depp also paid $500,000 for Heard's counsel and that he also paid the comunity liabilities that accumulated during their marriage, of £13,500,000.