Amber Heard Sued By Insurance Company Over Johnny Depp Defamation Trial Payment

Amber Heard has been sued by an insurance company over its liability for the costs resulting from the actress’s recent defamation trial between herself and ex-husband Johnny Depp. New York Marine and General Insurance Company covered Heard from July 18, 2018 until July 18, 2019, a period of time that faced much scrutiny during the trial in Virginia earlier this year.

1. The insurance company doesn’t want to pay Amber Heard what it owes her. The dates during which Heard was covered by the policy just so happens to have been when she published the Washington Post Op-Ed that was at the center of Depp’s defamation lawsuit. While technically speaking, she was covered for $1 million, New York Marine and General Insurance Company thinks they shouldn’t have to honor the contract.
2. The insurance company is suing Amber Heard on three points. Law & Crime says the lawsuit, filed in the US District for the Central District of California last week, made three separate points. First, it says it should be absolved of any duty to pay for her defense in the defamation case. The company also believes it’s not liable to pay the $10 million judgment Depp won against her, and that it shouldn’t be on the hook for any ongoing litigation costs either.
3. Isn’t this what insurance is for? Well, kind of. These companies should have to pay up for a client’s negligence, but New York Marine and General points out that under California law, “an insurer is not liable for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured.” The company says that since Heard supposedly willfully defamed Depp in the op-ed, that thereby cancels its own agreements with Heard.
4. New York Marine and General says it didn’t approve of Heard’s legal team either. It says that she was working with Cameron McEvoy law firm when the insurance policy was put into place but that once McEvoy dropped out in November 2020, New York Marine had no say. “An actual controversy has arisen and now exists between Plaintiff, on the one hand, and Heard, on the other hand, with regard to the duties and obligations owed between Plaintiff and Heard under the Policy with respect to indemnity,” the firm claimed in the lawsuit.