Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd information

Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd
Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd
	Royal Courts of Justice
Court	High Court of Justice
Full case name	John Christopher Depp II v (1) News Group Newspapers Ltd, and (2) Dan Wootton
Decided	2 November 2020
Citation	EWHC 2911 (QB)
Transcript	BAILII
Case history
Prior actions	[2019] EWHC 1113 (QB); [2020] EWHC 505 (QB); [2020] EWHC 1237 (QB); [2020] EWHC 1689 (QB); [2020] EWHC 1734 (QB); (all interlocutory)
Court membership
Judge sitting	Mr Justice Nicol
Keywords
	defamation; libel; assault and battery; domestic violence;

Depp v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB) was a defamation lawsuit brought in England. The case was initiated by American actor Johnny Depp, who sued News Group Newspapers (NGN) and then-executive editor^[a] Dan Wootton for libel after The Sun ran an article^[b] that claimed Depp had abused his ex-wife and criticised his casting in the Fantastic Beasts film series. The article stated, "Overwhelming evidence was filed to show Johnny Depp engaged in domestic violence against his wife Amber Heard," who "recounted a detailed history of domestic abuse incidents, some of which had led to her fearing for her life." After a three-week trial in London in July 2020, Andrew Nicol, a High Court judge sitting without a jury, rejected Depp's claim in a verdict announced later that year, ruling that the published material was "substantially true".^[2]

In May 2016, Heard filed for divorce and for a temporary restraining order against Depp. In April 2018, The Sun, published by NGN, ran an article online originally titled "GONE POTTY How Can J K Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?", written by Dan Wootton, an executive editor at the paper.^[3] Depp sued Wootton and NGN for libel, stating that he wanted to clear his name and alleging that Heard had not only lied about the abuse but had in fact abused him. In their defence, NGN and Wootton alleged fourteen incidents of domestic abuse committed by Depp. During the highly publicised trial, both Heard and Depp testified in person.

In November 2020, the court published its judgement, rejecting Depp's claim against The Sun and ruling that he had assaulted Heard in 12 of the 14 alleged incidents and had put her in fear of her life.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] Depp's request to appeal the verdict was rejected as two Lord Justices of the Court of Appeal concluded that "it is clear from a reading of the judgment as a whole that the judge based his conclusions on each of the incidents on his extremely detailed review of the evidence specific to each incident" and therefore that the appeal had "no real prospect of success."^[8]^[9] Following the initial ruling, Depp stepped down from his role in the Fantastic Beasts series.^{[citation needed]} The case was seen as damaging to the reputations and careers of both Depp and Heard.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ Nicol, Andrew (2 November 2020). "Depp II v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Dan Wootton [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB) (02 November 2020)". BAILII. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
^ Cite error: The named reference guardian-20201102 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Johnny Depp loses libel case over Sun 'wife beater' claim". BBC News. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ Cite error: The named reference reuters_nov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Depp v NGN & Wootton (2020), paras. 574-585
^ Marshall, Alex (2 November 2020). "Johnny Depp Loses Court Case Against Newspaper That Called Him a 'Wife Beater'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
^ Lawless, Jill (25 March 2021). "UK court rejects Depp bid to appeal 'wife beater' ruling". Associated Press. New York City, New York, U.S. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
^ "Johnny Depp refused permission to appeal libel verdict". BBC News. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
^ Serjeant, Jill (3 November 2020). "Johnny Depp down but not entirely out after losing 'wife beater' case". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
^ Goddard, Emily (29 July 2020). "Johnny Depp: 'Wife beater' libel trial enters final day as lawyer calls allegation 'career-ending'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
^ Sarkisian, Jacob (29 July 2020). "The biggest moments from Johnny Depp's libel trial against News Group Newspapers". Insider. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[DeppIIvNGN&DW-2] Nicol, Andrew (2 November 2020). "Depp II v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Dan Wootton [2020] EWHC 2911 (QB) (02 November 2020)". BAILII. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

[guardian-20201102-4] Cite error: The named reference guardian-20201102 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:0-5] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] "Johnny Depp loses libel case over Sun 'wife beater' claim". BBC News. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.

[reuters_nov-7] Cite error: The named reference reuters_nov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Conclusion-8] Depp v NGN & Wootton (2020), paras. 574-585

[nytimes_verdict-9] Marshall, Alex (2 November 2020). "Johnny Depp Loses Court Case Against Newspaper That Called Him a 'Wife Beater'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

[10] Lawless, Jill (25 March 2021). "UK court rejects Depp bid to appeal 'wife beater' ruling". Associated Press. New York City, New York, U.S. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.

[11] "Johnny Depp refused permission to appeal libel verdict". BBC News. 25 March 2021. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.

[12] Serjeant, Jill (3 November 2020). "Johnny Depp down but not entirely out after losing 'wife beater' case". Reuters. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.

[independent-20200729-13] Goddard, Emily (29 July 2020). "Johnny Depp: 'Wife beater' libel trial enters final day as lawyer calls allegation 'career-ending'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[insider-20200729-14] Sarkisian, Jacob (29 July 2020). "The biggest moments from Johnny Depp's libel trial against News Group Newspapers". Insider. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

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