Judge denies Amber Heard's attempt to have Johnny Depp's libel case thrown out

dailystar.co.uk:

Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard has taken a dramatic turn after the Aquaman star allegedly attempted to have their case dismissed.

Just hours before the actress was set to take the stand during the final leg of their public defamation case, the 35-year-old's legal team applied to have the entire lawsuit thrown out at the Fairfax Courthouse in the heart of Virginia.Her attorney Ben Rottenborn argued that Heard's ex-husband, 58, had not met his burden of proof after the Hollywood star’s lawyers rested their three-week case before the jury.However, Judge Penney Azcarate denied the motion to strike in regards to two statements - though she has kept one under advisement.The dad-of-two is currently suing his ex-wife of two years over her controversial article that she published in The Washington Post which discuses domestic violence, although she did not name her ex-husband.Johnny is demanding £38million in damages, saying her claims of domestic abuse have all but ended his acting career in addition to demolishing his reputation.In response, Amber has filed a countersuit against him and is now seeking almost £78million in damages, alleging his legal team falsely accused her of fabricating claims against him.Her counterclaim accuses her ex of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her as she branded his lawsuit a continuation of “abuse and harassment.”The Pirates of the Caribbean star’s final witness – who testified before the dramatic 11th-hour bid to have the entire case tossed – said the actor has lost up to £32million due to her Washington Post article in 2018.Forensic accountant Michael Spindler told the jury how Johnny has lost the immense fortune due to Amber’s op-ed in which she alleged that she was the victim.