Johnny Depp Claims He Doesn’t Owe Former Lawyers

Johnny Depp claims he does not owe his former lawyers a dime because they never had a written contract.

In court documents obtained by The Blast on Friday, Depp claims he only had an oral agreement with Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman, even though they have been representing him since 1999.

Depp called the deal “illegal” and says he followed through with his side of the “alleged oral agreement.” Therefore, he should not have to pay the firm anything.

Depp and the firm have been battling in court for several months as part of his own ongoing troubles over finances. The Pirates of the Caribbean star has been fighting his former agents at The Management Group, and filed a $30 million malpractice suit against attorney Jacob Bloom’s firm.

Depp previously claimed there never was a “statutorily prescribed written contract” with Bloom in his Oct. 18 lawsuit.

“Instead of protecting Mr. Depp’s interests, Defendants engaged in misconduct for their own financial benefit and violated some of the most basic tenets of the attorney-client relationship, all to Mr. Depp’s serious financial detriment, causing Mr. Depp substantial economic harm,” Depp’s lawsuit read.

In December 2017, Deadline reported that the firm fired back in a cross-complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court.

“Bloom Hergott has been damaged, and continues to be damaged, to the extent the parties’ fee agreement is not enforced and Cross-Defendants have not paid the reasonable value of the legal services that Bloom Hergott provided to Cross-Defendants, in an amount to be proven at trial, plus interest,” the firm said.

The firm also claims Depp’s dire financial situation is the result of his over-spending on frivolous things and the unfavorable view the public has of him after his divorce from Amber Heard.

In November, TMG filed an “action for judicial foreclosure,” which could force Depp to sell five Los Angeles properties to pay off a $5 million loan TNG gave Depp in 2012. Days later, Depp sold the last of his five penthouse units at the top of the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles for $1.425 million.

The web of legal dramas Depp finds himself in have shined a light on his extravagant spending. Earlier this month, it was revealed that he was paying $3,000 a month for nine years to a neighbor because of a property dispute. Depp claims TNG never told him about the agreement. TNG has denied misusing Depp’s funds.