Why is Johnny Depp refusing to pay ACLU? Actor files motion to oppose $86K request

American actor Johnny Depp has denied the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) request to pay $86K after winning his high-profile defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.

On June 1, Depp's attorneys filed a motion with the New York State Supreme Court opposing the ACLU's request.They wrote:

"Respondents' request for in excess of $86,000 in "expenses" associated with their Court ordered document production is not only exorbitant and unreasonable, but unsupported by New York law."

The move came shortly after the ACLU sought to have Depp pay the agency more than $86,000 in legal fees incurred throughout the trial, which included Depp's claim and Heard's countersuit.

According to court records acquired by KFMB-TV in San Diego, the ACLU is asking for $86,256 from Johnny Depp after multiple ACLU witnesses testified in the trial, as well as compensation for documents produced by the ACLU in response to subpoenas issued by Depp's legal team.

They asserted that they were required to comply with a subpoena, evaluate 7,500 papers, and finally hand over 2,000 documents.

---

Johnny Depp's team thinks that ACLU is demanding way more money than required

According to court papers, the majority of the payment — more than $85,000 – would go towards legal bills. According to an expenditure report, the ACLU hired four workers to assist with document preparation.

A senior associate worked 38.7 hours at $799.50 per hour for a total of $30,940.65; a junior associate worked 78.6 hours at $500.20 per hour for a total of $39,315.72; a litigation support manager worked 17.1 hours at $336.20 per hour for a total of $5,749.02; and a litigation support analyst worked 31 hours at $295.20 per hour for a total of $9,151.20.

According to court filings, the agency is also asking $1,096.67 in additional expenditures, which includes third-party data hosting and usage fees. The ACLU is seeking a total of $86,256 in compensation expenses from Depp.

Depp's attorneys wrote in their motion against the payment to the ACLU:

"Mr. Depp acknowledges that New York law provides for the reimbursement of reasonable production expenses to a non-party and does not oppose reimbursing the Respondents for such reasonable expenses; but, Respondents seek reimbursement for expenses that go far beyond what was reasonably required to comply with the subpoena."

In court documents filed by the ACLU, the organization said that before filing this motion, they sent Johnny Depp a detailed description of their expenses and sought to negotiate reimbursement. However, those talks were not successful.

According to Newsweek, the foundation is authorized to pursue fees connected to complying with requests made by Depp and his legal team throughout the trial under New York state law. A representative for the ACLU told the publication that the payback asked is far less than what it really cost the ACLU to give Depp with the hundreds of papers he requested.

Several ACLU witnesses testified throughout the trial after Depp asked that the agency share information on payments Heard made to them between 2015 and 2016. During the trial, it was also discovered that Heard had assistance from the ACLU in authoring the 2018 op-ed.

Heard declared publicly that she will contribute $3.5 million to the ACLU and $3.5 million to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Johnny Depp was doubtful of Heard's story and served the ACLU with a subpoena. He requested that they provide information and reply to queries about Heard's philanthropic contributions.

According to the data, Heard did not honour her pledge to the ACLU. She barely paid $1.3 million of the promised $3.5 million.

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard over an op-ed article she wrote in 2018 in The Washington Post where she claimed to be a victim of domestic violence. Although she did not name Depp directly, his lawyers claimed that the piece insinuated that it was about him and asked for monetary compensation from Heard.