Thread by @nickwallis

BREAKING: Johnny Depp has lost his libel claim against NGN newspapers...

Par 588 "The Claimant has not succeeded in his action for libel. Although he has proved the necessary elements of his cause of action in libel, the Defendants have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true."

[sorry par 585 contd] "I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the Defendants rely as well as the overarching considerations which the Claimant submitted I should take into account…."

“… In those circumstances, Parliament has said that a defendant has a complete defence. It has not been necessary to consider the fairness of the article or the defendants’ ‘malice’ because those are immaterial to the statutory defence of truth...

…. The parties will have an opportunity to make submissions in writing as to the precise terms of the order which should follow my decision."

Par 577 "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’ – presumably in the event that the marriage broke down…."

“… Mr Sherborne commented in his closing submissions that Ms Heard had said that she recorded some of her conversations with Mr Depp to show him what he was capable of doing when the Monster prevailed and yet many of these were never played to or shown to Mr Depp…"

“…. She was, according to this scenario, nothing more than a gold-digger. I have in the course of this judgment given reasons why I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard. Looking at the evidence as a whole, I come to the same conclusion…."

[par 575] "I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard (bearing in mind what has been said about the evidence necessary to satisfy that standard when serious allegations are in issue)."

Incident 1: the tattoo incident

"Seen in isolation, the evidence that Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on this occasion might not be sufficient. However, taken with the evidence as a whole, I find that it did occur."

Incident 2: the painting incident

"Overall, I conclude that Mr Depp did assault Ms Heard as she and the Defendants have alleged"

Incident 3: Hicksville June 2013

"In the course of the argument, Mr Depp caused significant damage to the trailer. Ms Sexton could see that the damage was more than a broken light fixture which Mr Depp admitted damaging. I accept her evidence….

"… The argument and the damage to property are symptomatic of Mr Depp’s manner when ‘the monster’ side of his personality was dominant…"

“… I also accept the evidence of Ms Heard that another aspect of ‘the monster’ was that Mr Depp physically assaulted her as she described…."

“… I address another aspect of this incident in the Confidential Annexe to this judgment in which I do not accept the further allegation made by Ms Heard in relation to this incident."

Incident 4: the plane journey from Boston to Los Angeles

"As had happened previously when Mr Depp became drunk and high on illegal drugs, he insulted Ms Heard and screamed obscenities at her. In his closing submissions, Mr Sherborne submitted that...

“… Mr Depp would not have done this in the presence of Mr Deuters, Mr Jerry Judge (Mr Depp’s head of security) and the flight crew…."

“… However, I prefer the evidence of Mr Depp’s text to Mr Bettany in which after recounting what he had consumed he asked rhetorically, ‘What do you get?’ Mr Depp’s answer to that question was,
‘a fuckin’ blackout, screaming obscenities and any fuck who gets near.’…"

“… These verbal insults became, in the course of the flight, physical abuse. Whatever the configuration of the furniture on the plane, Mr Depp managed to kick Ms Heard on her back or bottom…."

“…. This was more than a ‘playful tap’, contrary to what he and Mr Deuters said in their evidence. Mr Sherborne submitted that Mr Deuters (and Mr Judge) would not have allowed that to happen. I do not accept that submission. Their first loyalty was to Mr Depp."

Incident 5: Bahamas August 2014

"I find it more likely than not that Mr Depp did push Ms Heard on at least one occasion (as reflected in her text of 17th August 2014). I am not able to conclude whether there was more than this one assault…."

“… That Ms Roberts never saw Mr Depp assault Ms Heard takes the matter no further. The staff (including Ms Roberts) lived in a different part of the island…"

“… In any event, Ms Heard’s account is that she was generally assaulted by Mr Depp only when no one else was present. That is a common feature of domestic abuse…."

“…. Ms Heard acknowledged that she had made a mistake about the location of the door which was splintered. That is a peripheral matter and I do not find it causes me to doubt her account of being assaulted by Mr Depp."

Incident 6: Los Angeles December 2014

"I am not persuaded that Incident 6 constituted a physical assault of Ms Heard by Mr Depp."

Incident 7: Tokyo: January 2015

"I have found that on other occasions, not long before Incident 7, Mr Depp was adversely affected by drink and/or drugs, whether prescription or controlled drugs…."

“… During those incidents, Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard.
I do not accept that the presence of his children would have inhibited Mr Depp from doing so again. They were staying in another room…."

“… Nor do I find that the presence of his children would have prevented Mr Depp from gaining access to controlled drugs. After all, a short time later in February or March Nathan Holmes was helping Mr Depp to acquire controlled drugs in Australia…"

“… I conclude that Mr Depp did assault Ms Heard as she and the Defendants have alleged in Incident 7."

Incident 8: Australia March 2015

"It is plain that at some point in the argument, part of one of the Claimant’s fingers was sliced off. The Claimant said this had occurred when Ms Heard threw a vodka bottle at him…"

“… He denied that he had cut his finger accidentally on a broken bottle or on a plastic wall mounted telephone which was broken. I return below to consider the evidence as to how this occurred. Mr Depp also said that Ms Heard also put out a lit cigarette on his cheek…"

“… The damage to the Claimant’s hand was serious and painful. The Claimant denied that he had delayed seeking medical help. He did agree, however, that he had written graffiti on the wall with his injured finger…."

“… At first, he used blood from the finger. He then dipped his injured finger into paint. There are in evidence photographs of some of the graffiti which the Claimant drew…."

“… Part of this read, ‘starring Billy Bob Thornton Easy Amber’. Mr Depp agreed that he wrote that. He also wrote on a lampshade ‘Good luck and be careful at the top’…."

“…. He agreed he had done so at a time when he was severely injured. It was put to Mr Depp that he did not know what he was doing. He replied,
‘I knew exactly what I was doing.’"

“… Malcom Connolly said that when he arrived Mr Depp was outside the house and Mr Depp said to him words to the effect of,
‘Look at my finger. She’s cut my fucking finger off. She’s smashed my hand with a vodka bottle.’
Mr Connolly also said that Mr Depp told him that...

… Ms Heard had also put a cigarette out on his cheek. Mr Connolly could see a mark on Mr Depp’s face…"

“… Mr Connolly agreed that Ms Heard was saying that Mr Depp had burnt himself with the cigarette, although she did not say that in his presence.
Mr Connolly was shown a photograph of Mr Depp lying in hospital…."

“… He identified the mark to which he had referred on the right side of Mr Depp’s face…."

“… Mr Depp was due to discuss potential surgical procedures with Dr Sawhney the following day (9th March 2015). In fact, the operation on Mr Depp’s hand took place in California, not in Australia…."

“… The bone was pinned, and a plaster cast was put over it. I was shown a photograph (taken on 18th March 2015) of the cast which had pictures of little dinosaurs on it…."

“… Neither the hospital, nor Dr Sawhney, nor Dr Kipper made any mention of a cigarette burn to Mr Depp’s cheek…"

“… I do not accept that Ms Heard was responsible for the injury to Mr Depp’s finger. The first account appears to have been in Mr Depp’s text to Dr Kipper. It is notable in that text that he says he cut his finger, not that she cut it…."

“… Mr Connolly said that Mr Depp told him on his arrival that Ms Heard had caused the injury to his finger, but that is not what Mr Depp said in his text to Dr Kipper. Nor did Mr Depp say that Ms Heard had been responsible for the injury to his finger…"

“… in either of his two texts to sister Christi on 8th March 2015… What exactly caused the injury is uncertain. Mr King spoke of there being a great deal of broken glass around and it may well be that Mr Depp accidentally cut his finger on a piece of broken glass…"

“… Ms Heard’s description of the days in Australia as akin to a hostage situation was something of a hyperbole. She was not being kept in the house against her will. The house was set back on a long drive, but there were people around…."

“…. Ms Heard had a mobile phone. She agreed in cross examination that she could have contacted anyone. In the accidentally recorded conversation she spoke of phoning her sister. Ms Heard could have left the house…."

“… Yet taking all the evidence together, I accept that she was the victim of sustained and multiple assaults by Mr Depp in Australia…."

“… It is a sign of the depth of his rage that he admitted scrawling graffiti in blood from his injured finger and then, when that was insufficient, dipping his badly injured finger in paint and continuing to write messages and other things…."

“… I accept her evidence of the nature of the assaults he committed against her. They must have been terrifying. I accept that Mr Depp put her in fear of her life."

Incident 9: the stairs incident 23rd March 2015

"It is no part of my function to decide whether Mr Depp was having an affair with Rochelle (any more than it is my function to decide whether Ms Heard had affairs with James Franco, Billy Bob Thornton, Elon Musk or anyone else)…"

“… Even if he or she had been unfaithful in this sense, it could not begin to excuse the use of violence in consequence. To be fair to Mr Depp and Ms Heard, neither suggested that it could…."

“… I regard the most reliable account of what took place as the texts sent by Ms Lloyd. They were written very shortly after the events she is describing and they are therefore a near-contemporaneous account…"

“…. Ms Lloyd was also independent of both Mr Depp and Ms Heard. It is plain from these texts that this argument was not simply a verbal argument. She speaks of them ‘getting violent again’…."

“…. It is also plain from what Ms Lloyd said in her texts that there was violence on both sides. Ms Heard has accepted that she punched Mr Depp, but it is clear from Ms Lloyd’s texts that she was not the sole aggressor. As Ms Lloyd said, ‘We had to restrain both of them.’…"

“…. However, Ms Lloyd makes no mention of Mr Depp being struck on the back by a can of Red Bull. Either this did not happen, or the force of the blow was so minimal that it was not worth Ms Lloyd referring to it. Either way it is of no consequence…"

“… All agree that Mr Depp still had a cast on his injured right hand, but in Ms Lloyd’s account (which I find to be true) that did not stop him being one of those who was violent or having to be physically restrained…."

“… In short, I accept that Mr Depp did assault Ms Heard as she and the Defendants have alleged… I find that Ms Heard was in her pyjamas as Ms Henriquez said (and as would be natural in the early hours of the morning). She did not have her purse with her…"

“…. (whether ‘purse’ for these purposes is as it would be understood in England or in the USA). I do not find that she threw a can of Red Bull at Mr Depp. As she admitted, she did punch him, but I accept that was in defence of her sister…."

“…. Mr McGivern agreed that the account of the incident which he gave in cross- examination differed from the account in his statement. He did not have a satisfactory explanation for the difference. I find that the weight I can give to his evidence is consequently reduced."

Incident 10: south east Asia train incident

"I do not accept that it is proven."

Incident 12: 15th December 2015 (the day before Ms Heard’s appearance on James Corden’s Late Late Show)

"My findings in relation to Incident 12 are as follows...

“…. There was an argument on 15th December between Mr Depp and Ms Heard. I find that it is more probable than not that on this occasion, as on others, Mr Depp was under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled drugs…."

“… The argument was not just verbal: it became physical.
Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard. This included head-butting her, as he admitted in the course of his cross-examination, but in my view, it was not the accidental blow which he admitted…."

“… That was not what he said in the San Francisco recording and, although I recognise that I must be careful not to attribute too much weight to such out of court remarks, the deliberate nature of the head-butt fits with the other evidence of what took place that evening…"

“… I also agree with the Defendants that it is of some significance that Mr Depp did not say to David Heard that he had headbutted his daughter, but accidentally…."

“…. Mr Depp also tore out clumps of hair from Ms Heard’s head. These were photographed later. If the photos show hair without roots (and I make no finding that that is the case), I am not in a position to consider the significance of that in the absence of expert evidence…."

“…. Ms Pennington and Ms Inglessis saw Ms Heard that night. I accept their evidence of her condition then. That supports Ms Heard’s account of what had taken place…"

“… Although the consultations show that she had not suffered long term or other significant injury (and her nose was not, it seems, actually broken) these assaults would, particularly in combination…"

“… , have been extremely frightening. I accept that they put Ms Heard in fear of her life…."

“… Ms Heard appeared on James Corden’s TV show on 16th December. She had been anxious as to whether she could do this with her injuries, as she said in her messages to Jodi Gottlieb and to Jessica Kovacevic…"

“… but I accept her evidence that it was important for her to keep the commitment. Ms Inglessis was able to conceal Ms Heard’s injuries with make-up and lipstick. I find that Ms McMillen…"

“…. saw her after the make-up had been applied which was why the injuries were not apparent to her. For the same reason, the injuries cannot be seen on the still photographs from the show…."

“… For all of these reasons, I accept that Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard as she and the Defendants have alleged."

Incident 13: 21st April 2016 (the birthday party)

"My findings in relation to Incident 13 are as follows…"

“… Mr Depp had a meeting on the evening of 21st April 2016 at which he was given very grim news about his financial situation. Ms Sexton misunderstood the reason for Mr Depp’s delayed arrival…."

“...In consequence Mr Depp took marijuana, as he admitted. I find it more likely than not that he also drank alcohol and took cocaine. This had been his practice on other occasions when he was faced with stress…."

“… As he accepts, he arrived late at the dinner party to celebrate his wife’s birthday. He assaulted Ms Heard as he had done on previous occasions when he was stressed. I do not accept that Ms Heard assaulted Mr Depp on 21st April 2016…."

“… Ms Heard and her friends went the following day to the Coachella music festival. She admits that that weekend was a rare occasion when she took MDMA and magic mushrooms….

“… She felt ill in consequence of one or other or both of the drugs. Whether or not she vomited in the car park as Starling Jenkins describes is not material, but I accept that one of the other members of the party was Whitney Henriquez, Ms Heard’s sister…."

“…. who is of similar appearance to Ms Heard. Ms Henriquez was pregnant at the time and agreed that she did vomit on more than one occasion. To the extent that it is material…"

“… I find that Mr Jenkins confused the two sisters. In any event he accepted in cross examination that he had identified Ms Heard by her clothes rather than any other feature."

Faeces on the bed

"Mr Depp’s belief that Ms Heard or one of her friends was responsible for leaving the faeces on the bed is relevant because (a) it led him to conclude that his marriage to Ms Heard could not continue and…"

“… (b) it was the cause of part of the argument which subsequently took place on 21st May 2016. In my view, whether Ms Heard or one of her friends was in fact responsible is not important. It is remote from the central issue, namely whether Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard…."

“… It is not even of significant relevance to whether Ms Heard assaulted Mr Depp. For what it is worth, I consider that it is unlikely that Ms Heard or one of her friends was responsible. Mr Depp had left that night for his property in Sweetzer…."

“… As long as he was away, it was Ms Heard who was likely to suffer from the faeces on the bed, not him. It was, therefore, a singularly ineffective means for Ms Heard or one of her friends to ‘get back’ at Mr Depp. Other evidence in the case showed…"

“… that Boo (one of the two dogs) had an incomplete mastery of her bowels after she had accidentally consumed some marijuana. Ms Heard gave evidence that Boo had in the past defecated on the bed and that she herself had cleaned it up rather than leave that task to Ms Vargas."

Incident 14: 21st May 2016 Los Angeles

“… on 21st May 2016, Ms Heard had an exchange of texts with Melanie Inglessis which said…"

“….
‘MI: u ok babe?

AH: No. Johnny came over “to talk”. His mom just died. Then he went sideways. Convinced of some CRAZY shit. Beat on me. Cops were called. They just left. Filing a restraining order. Divorce goes through on Monday. My face looks stupid. Bad night.’…"

“… At some point that night Mr Depp sent a text to Ms Heard which said:

'‘That was it. The last encounter forever. You were already ready to strike!!! Why did I even come there in the 1st place?? To be yelled at by you!!! I’m an idiot. PH5 is Rocky’s studio?? …"

“…. 'You are shameless ... I tried to make it work and you just turned more and more into a spoiled brat. All you wanted was to make me fucking miserable. Well I’m finally there. I’ll never be able to understand how I fell in love with you ... "

“….'You’re not her. I loved you more than anything ... I did everything I could. But you never fucking loved me ... I hope our divorce goes as quickly as possible and that it is as painless as possible. So sorry you were as unhappy with me as you were ... obviously the…"

“…. 'purity of whatever was, has been gone for a long time. I will miss the moments of beauty and truth ... Goodbye Amber ... What the fuck was I thinking??? I wish you all you merit ... The former Him’"

"On 24th May 2016 Samantha Spector of Spector Law wrote on behalf of Ms Heard to Bloom Hergot Diemer Rosenthal LaVoilette on behalf of Mr Depp. Ms Spector referred to what had occurred on 21st May…"

“…. and said that there were photographs of the property damage and the injuries to Ms Heard. Ms Spector said that there had been two other incidents in the past 6 months. Ms Spector said that Ms Heard wanted, if possible…"

“… to avoid the media spotlight which was why she had not yet sought a TRO. In her cross- examination, Ms Heard was asked about the subsequent expansion of the number of…"

“… allegations of physical assault by Mr Depp. Ms Heard responded that her lawyer told her that this was a short application. If Mr Depp had hit her once, she would qualify for a restraining order. Ms Spector told her to give her the last couple of incidents…."

“… Ms Heard denied that the letter from Ms Spector was a form of blackmail. Ms Pennington said she arrived on 2st May and comforted Ms Heard…."

“… The guards came in. Ms Heard said, ‘If he hits me again, I will call the police.’ According to the Claimant and Mr Bett, at that stage Ms Heard and the Claimant were 20 feet apart…."

“…. Two police officers did attend that evening. They were officer Melissa Saenz (who had received training in domestic violence) and officer Tyler Hadden. They had no contemporary records of the attendance…."

“…. Ms. Saenz could not say what time they arrived except it was the evening. An automated incident report... had been generated and they had each given evidence on deposition for the purpose of the divorce / restraining order proceedings on 18th July 2016…."

“… On their arrival, they had been met by two people, but the police officers had not noted their names. They also saw Ms Heard who was inside the man’s apartment. She was crying and reluctant to speak to the police. That was not unusual in officer Saenz’s experience…."

“… They had a clear view of Ms Heard. Ms Heard did not appear to have any sign of injury to her face. The apartment where they were was well lit. There was reddening to her cheek, but officer Saenz attributed that to Ms Heard crying. .."

“… The officer asked Ms Heard if she wanted to talk in private, but she did not. She declined to make a complaint, but officer Saenz left her visiting card in case Ms Heard changed her mind. There was written on the visiting card…"

“...‘Radio call of dispute. Refused report. Adv’d can call @ later time if changes mind.’…"

"The time on the card was 9.16pm and the card itself was photographed on 21st May 2016 at 9.19pm. The officers said they looked around the apartment. They said there did not appear to be any damage and no broken glass….

“… Officer Saenz thought they were in the building for about 30-60 minutes. CCTV shows their arrival at 9.04 and their departure at 9.19. As I have said, the Incident Report is timed at 21.21…"

“… The second pair of police officers who came to the Eastern Columbia Building later that night have made no statements…..”

[this is a very long section - I’m going to cut to the finding and reboot as tweetdeck is lagging]

Findings on Incident 14:

"Incident 14 is one where the conflict in evidence is particularly sharp. I have listed those who saw Ms Heard in the days following the incident and who said that her face had no sign of injury. On the other…"

“… hand, there is evidence which I find compelling of witnesses who saw Ms Heard with injuries to her face and who took photographs of these. I prefer the evidence of the latter for several reasons:.."

“… Some of their evidence is contemporaneous. Thus, for instance, Mr Tillett Wright heard Ms Heard yelp down the phone. He was sufficiently alarmed for her safety to call 911 even though he was in New York at the time. Other parts are near contemporaneous...

“… Thus, the accounts given by Mr Drew and Ms Pennington were drafted on the following day. Mr Tillett Wright also sent his email (which I have quoted above and which broadly accords with his subsequent statement) on 22nd May 2016…"

“… There are the photographs. The metadata is not disputed and shows that one of the photographs of Ms Heard’s face was taken before the first pair of police officers arrived…"

“… I do not agree with the submission that they are valueless as evidence of Ms Heard suffering some injury to her face. They clearly show (at least) some reddening to her cheek, as Mr Depp in the course of his cross-examination admitted…"

“… In my view Mr Drew was an impressive witness. He gave his evidence carefully and conceded some matters even when alternative answers would have better suited Ms Heard and the Defendants. I accept his evidence…"

“… including his account of what he saw of Mr Depp that night, the injury to Ms Heard’s face, and his denial that the photographs of her face and the damage to the apartments was staged in any way…"

“… While I accept that the views I have reached are in conflict with the evidence of Officer Saenz and Officer Hadden, I maintain them nonetheless. It is notable that the officers took no contemporaneous notes…"

“… While it is not for me to criticise the methods of another police force, the absence of contemporaneous notes means that their evidence does not carry the same weight as it would otherwise…"

“… I reach the view that Mr Depp did assault Ms Heard as she alleges in Incident 14 despite the testimony of the witnesses who I have previously listed. In brief:.."

“… Sean Bett’s first loyalty I find was to his employer, Mr Depp. I accept Ms Heard’s evidence that he was not likely to intervene to protect her from Mr Depp…"

“… As was apparent when various explanations were given in Australia for the injury to Mr Depp’s finger, his security team were acutely conscious of the potential for adverse publicity to harm Mr Depp’s reputation…."

“… I do not accept Mr Bett’s evidence to the extent that it conflicted with the evidence of Ms Heard, Ms Pennington, and Mr Drew…."

“… The same may be said of Mr Judge. In any event, Mr Judge’s evidence is unreliable in several respects; he said that Ms Heard did not threaten to call the police if Mr Depp hit her again, but Mr Depp heard her say that…"

“… Mr Bett and Mr Depp both agree that he went into PH5, Mr Judge says that Mr Depp did not; Mr Judge does not mention in his declaration that Mr Depp left his phone in PH3…"

[PH’s are Penthouses in the same building that Mr Depp owned]

"yet this plainly did occur and Mr Drew had to bring it down to Mr Judge and Mr Bett. Had Mr Judge been still alive, he might have been able to address these matters, but I must decide the case…"

“… on the evidence I have seen and read, not speculate as to what other evidence there might have been…."

“… I accept Ms Heard’s evidence that she usually went out of the apartment wearing makeup and she did so because of the enthusiasm of the paparazzi to try to photograph her…"

“… In particular I accept that she was wearing makeup on 22nd May when she went to Ms Pennington’s exhibition, on 23rd May when she went Ms de Cadenet’s party…"

“… I find that Ms Heard was wearing makeup when seen by Mr Harrell, Mr Barruch, Ms McMillen, Ms Esparza, Ms Vargas and Mr Romero. Since she was not at these stages willing to go public…"

“… with her allegations against Mr Depp, one purpose of the make-up would have been to do her best to conceal the injuries and marks."

[okay so that’s selective quoting from the judgment - the full judgment can be read here:

judiciary.uk/judgments/depp…]

Here’s a statement from Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, U.S. counsel for Amber Heard:

“For those of us present for the London High Court trial, this decision and Judgment are not a surprise…."

“… Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the U.S. We are committed to obtaining Justice for Amber Heard in the U.S. Court and defending Ms. Heard's Right to Free Speech.”"

Right. I’ve got to go and interview some people - you’ll see the results if you’re in the UK on @5_News at 5pm GMT tonight. I’ll tweet the report as soon as I get it.

If you have appreciated any of the work I did on the Depp trial this summer and the (admittedly rather easier...

… cutting and pasting job I did just now, please consider putting something in the tip jar.

Thanks.

nickwallis.com/tip-jar