Amber Heard in Precarious Financial Situation After Courtroom Showdown With Johnny Depp - Media

Heard reportedly relied on her homeowner insurance policy to cover her legal expenses, which appears to be a fairly common practice in defamation cases.

As actress Amber Heard ended up losing the legal battle against her celebrity ex-husband Johnny Depp, it appears that the legal fees related to the trial left her pretty much “broke”, the New York Post reports.

According to the newspaper, multiple sources said Heard’s current financial situation is the result of the litigation, with one source also attributing it to Amber’s “past lavish spending, on travel, clothes, gifts and wine.”

The Post’s sources also said that Heard relies on her homeowner insurance policy to cover the costs of her current legal team, with the bill mostly being footed by The Travelers Companies under the terms of Heard’s insurance policy.

Apparently, the use of homeowner insurance policies in defamation cases is fairly common, with Pennsylvania trial attorney Heather Heidelbaugh explaining to the newspaper that it is “a little oddity that most people don’t know”.

“In most homeowner insurance policies, there is coverage if you are sued for defamation based on how much you pay through coverage,” Heidelbaugh said.

Virginia lawyer Jeremiah Denton, however, reportedly pointed out that most insurance policies feature a clause stipulating that judgment costs won’t be covered.

“A lot of insurance policies provide coverage for defamation but they have an exclusion in, which says ‘we will not cover any intentional wrongdoing,’ ” he said. “In order to win a defamation case against a public figure, you have to show intentional wrongdoing. Sometimes what it requires to get the judgment kicks you out of the policy that may pay for the judgment. That’s the dilemma.”

While representatives for Heard and her attorney did not return The Post’s request for comment about the actress’ financial situation, the newspaper suggests that Amber’s net worth has been estimated “at between $1.5 and $2.5 million as of Thursday”.

Earlier this week, Johnny Depp was awarded over $10 million in punitive and compensatory damages as he won his libel case against Amber Heard.

Depp sued Heard for some $50 million after she wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post in 2018, describing herself as a victim of domestic abuse though not naming Depp directly.