Just when you thought Amber Heard was going to take her loss and go home, another bombshell has been dropped. Now Heard is facing a legal battle with her own insurance company. New York Marine and General Insurance Co. filed a U.S. California district court lawsuit against the “Aquaman” actress Friday, seeking to avoid having to pay Heard after her defamation lawsuit loss against Johnny Depp.
The insurer said in the lawsuit it doesn't believe it has an obligation to provide a legal defense to Heard.
Amber Heard wants her insurance company to cover a portion of the verdict Johnny Depp won against her, but the insurance co. says Amber's own conduct allows them to tell her to pound sand. https://t.co/blGhfIlZyq
— TMZ (@TMZ) July 9, 2022
“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” of her actions in the defamation case writes the insurer in the suit.
New York Marine attorney, James P. Wagoner, declined to comment on the freshly opened complaint.
Amber Heard: Hey, insurance company, you need to cover $1million of the damages verdict Johnny Depp won against me.
New York Marine Insurance company: No. We’re not paying you. Why? You committed wrongful WILLFUL misconduct. Your own conduct negates the terms of our policy.
— Greg Ellis 🏴☠️ (@ellisgreg) July 9, 2022
Although not all is lost for Heard, Travelers Commercial Insurance “has spent and continues to spend substantial sums” for her legal fees under a home insurance policy provided to Heard in 2018, per court filings. Travelers is now pursuing New York Marine for their share of the sum.
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This new Federal complaint is the latest of many legal challenges for Ms. Heard. Coming only weeks after her losing verdict in the highly-publicized before a Virginia jury that decided Ms. Heard did indeed defame Depp. The trial was messy from the beginning, including Ms. Heard's graphic allegations of bad behavior from Depp during the duration of their marriage.
Depp denied all her allegations and wrongdoing.
In 2019, Mr. Depp brought a $50 million libel lawsuit for Heard's December 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post. The op-ed described many disparaging things about an unknown man. Mr. Depp was never mentioned explicitly, yet he asserted that the column was clearly describing him.
A few short weeks ago, Depp won over a $10,000,000 judgment, and New York Marine is not hearing any of it. “Plaintiff contends it has no duty to defend Heard based on California Insurance Code 533.” This state code cites “an insurer is not liable for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured.”
Initially, the insurance company told Ms. Heard they would indeed be providing her a legal defense. After further thought, per California law, there would not be any legal defense for Heard per the lawsuit.
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With $6 million in attorney fees, what's next for Heard? Will Johnny forgive her and not make her pay him? Many questions and so few answers. When it's all said and done, are you #TeamJohnny or #TeamAmber?
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