Amber Heard files for an appeal in Johnny Depp trial

The appeal asks for a reversal of the verdict or a new trial. Photo / AP

Amber Heard has filed an appeal after losing her legal battle with her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Depp successfully sued his ex-wife for defamation over a 2018 opinion piece for the Washington Post in which she wrote about being a victim of domestic violence with a court in Virginia awarding him a $10.35 million (NZ$16.4 million) payout - and now Heard’s legal team has filed a 68-page appeal against the verdict.

In the paperwork - which was filed with a court in Virginia in late November - Heard’s lawyers argue the trial which took place this summer was unfair because Judge Penney Azcarate excluded Heard’s therapy notes in which she claimed to have been abused by the actor.

The documents state: “If not reversed, the trial court’s exclusion of contemporaneous reports of domestic abuse to medical professionals will make it more difficult for other abuse victims to prove allegations of abuse, and likely deter them from coming forward.

“That holding, if allowed to stand, undoubtedly will have a chilling effect on other women who wish to speak about abuse involving powerful men.”

The appeal asks for a reversal of the verdict or a new trial.

Other points mentioned in the documents to support the appeal include the decision to hold the trial in Virginia - where the Washington Post servers are based - instead of California where the former couple lived together as well as Depp’s failed case against UK newspaper The Sun.

Depp sued the publication for libel over an article which labelled him a “wife-beater” but lost and he was later denied the right to appeal against the ruling.

The actor - who was not named in Heard’s op-ed piece - has vehemently denied claims he had been violent towards his ex-wife and the jury in Virginia found Heard liable on three counts of defamation - ordering her to pay him $10.35 million (NZ$16.4 million).

Amber Heard and Johnny Depp at the defamation trial held in April. Photo / AP Photo -Steve Helber, Pool, File

The Pirates of the Caribbean star was found liable on one count of defamation as part of Heard’s countersuit against him and he was ordered to hand over $2 million (NZ$3.17 million) to his ex.

Depp’s lawyers have also filed an appeal against the one count of defamation he was found liable for - calling it “erroneous”.

Their paperwork added: “The jury’s emphatic favourable verdict on all three defamatory statements alleged in his complaint fully vindicated Mr. Depp and restored his reputation.”