It appears that the jurors may have found at least one party responsible, but have not made up for the monetary damages they would award, according to Judge Penny Azkarate. Jurors were instructed to decide whether to award compensatory and punitive damages if they found that a party was responsible for defamation.
“When you find one or more defamatory statements, you have to make up for the damages,” Azkarate told jurors in open court. “It has to be at least $ 1 and up to what you think the damage should be. For punitive damages you can put 0 there or you can fill them in like we do. ”
Depp is suing Hurd for $ 50 million in defamation for a 2018 publication she wrote for The Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic violence.” Although Depp is not mentioned in the article, he claims that it costs him lucrative acting roles. Hurd has sued for $ 100 million over Depp’s lawyer’s statements about her allegations of abuse. Hurd and Depp met in 2009 and were married from 2015 to 2016.
The defamation trial has been ongoing since April, and jurors have heard a total of more than 100 hours of testimony. They heard dozens of witnesses, including live testimony from Depp and Hurd, and discussed for nearly 14 hours before reaching sentencing.
Depp is not in court for the verdict due to “pre-planned work commitments,” a source close to Depp told CNN, adding that he “will watch from the United Kingdom.”
Hurd is in court awaiting sentencing.
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