19 Aug – It's another small win for Johnny Depp against ex-wife Amber Heard, after it was revealed that a Virginia judge allowed him to move forward with his defamation lawsuit against the "Aquaman" star. Sources revealed that the said judge has overruled Amber Heard's plea to dismiss Johnny Depp's lawsuit after he lost his UK libel case against British tabloid The Sun for calling him a "wife-beater". Heard's plea to dismiss the lawsuit was filed in 2019, stating that the judgement should be able to sway on the proceedings in the US since both lawsuits centre on the allegations of Depp being abusive towards her. The said Judge stated that the court is not persuaded by Heard's argument that Depp had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the UK Action. "Defendant was not a part in the UK action and was not treated as one. Because she was not named a defendant, she was not subject to the same discovery rules applicable to named parties," the Judge determined. "In fact, Defendant could not have been a named defendant to the UK litigation because her allegedly defamatory statements were made after the UK action commenced." Speaking to the media about the ruling, Depp's lawyer Ben Chew stated, "Mr. Depp is most gratified by the Court's decision." Earlier this month, the actor won his first fight against Heard in his effort to petition for the release of documents to determine if the actress has donated the entirety of her USD 7 million divorce settlement to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as she has pledged earlier.