Amber Heard Faces New Legal Battle with Insurer over Johnny Depp Lawsuit

The New York Marine and General Insurance Company New York Marine, has sued Amber Heard in federal court in a dispute over liability coverage.

The insurance company claimed that they are not liable to pay part of the $8 million damages owed to her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.

In a policy written in 2019, New York Marine and General Insurance Co. stated it would pay up to $1m. However, in the suit filed on Friday, the company claims that it is not obligated to cover a portion of the damages because Heard “wilfully” defamed her former husband.

This is because the policy was filed in California where the law states that an insurer does not need to pay if the policyholder committed “willful” misconduct.

The company said in its filing: “An actual controversy has arisen and now exists between Plaintiff, on the one hand, and Heard, on the other hand, with regard to the duties and obligations owed between Plaintiff and Heard under the Policy with respect to indemnity."

Last month, Depp won his defamation suit against Heard after the jury found that she defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote about her experience with domestic abuse and described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse”.

He was not referred to by name in the piece. However, the abuse allegations had cost him money and career opportunities.

Heard has countersued for $100 million for defamation over statements made by an attorney for Depp who called her claims of abuse a “hoax”.

The trial kicked off on April 11 in the Washington, D.C.-adjacent jurisdiction and continued for six weeks.

The jury awarded Depp $15 million — $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages.

However, Azcarate reduced the punitive damages figure to $350,000, the maximum allowed in the state, which makes Depp’s total haul around $10.4 million.

The jury, consisting of five men and two women, also concluded that Heard was defamed by a lawyer for Depp who accused her of creating a detailed hoax surrounding the abuse allegations.

She was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages to Heard, but $0 in punitive damages.

Last week, Heard’s legal team filed an appeal that asked Fairfax County Court to set aside the verdict or order a new trial.