The Amber Heard case is pending. The New York Times reported that she was planning to appeal, but she still had to pay a bond of $10.35 million before appealing, which is exactly what she needed to pay to Johnny Depp. The amount of compensation paid by (Johnny Depp). Can Amberhead actually afford the money? What will happen if she can’t pay her?
Although Amber has not disclosed her financial situation, after the court ruling, there were immediate concerns about whether she could afford the cost. Although the court ordered her to pay Johnny $15 million, the $5 million in punitive damages exceeded the $350,000 punitive limit, so Amber’s compensation was essentially $10.35 million.
Amber was paid millions for her Aquaman show and $7 million in alimony when she divorced Johnny in 2016, but it’s still a long way from $10.35 million. At the same time, the public hearing of the case has affected Amber’s reputation. The failure of this lawsuit will undoubtedly further setback the future of his career. It is doubtful whether he will be able to take on film and television series in the future, which will seriously affect his repayment ability.
file for bankruptcy
If Amber proves incapable of repayment, she has two options. The first is to file for bankruptcy, which can exempt 10 million of the fine. The punitive fine of $350,000 is generally not waived through bankruptcy, but at least it can reduce the amount by more than 96%, greatly reducing the burden.
However, there are opinions that even bankruptcy cannot be exempted from compensation. American entertainment gossip website Radar Online quoted Los Angeles lawyer Richards (Ronald Richards) as saying that because the fine involves defamation, such malicious torts generally cannot be exempted from bankruptcy compensation.
Split repayment period
Another option is to split the repayment, allowing Amber to deduct a portion of his future salary for repayment, which is a common practice when dealing with court compensation. However, even if the repayment period can be extended, it will be difficult to do if Amber loses his high earning ability. At the same time, Amber may have to pay interest due to delayed repayment, which should not be underestimated.
But more important is whether Johnny enforces the verdict. In fact, Amber could negotiate with Johnny to reduce the amount of compensation, and Johnny could not execute the judgment, disguisedly exempting Amber from all compensation. But it depends on Johnny’s final decision, whether the claim is in Johnny’s hands.
After the verdict, Johnny issued a statement saying he believed the case, regardless of the outcome, was intended to reveal the truth.