Johnny Depp and his former business managers have reportedly reached a settlement in their $25 million lawsuit.
Depp has been tied up in a massive legal battle with The Management Group, which he claims defrauded him out of $25 million. Depp launched the lawsuit back in January of 2017, be he himself sought to have it delayed as the trial date began to approach. Finally, according to a report by Deadline, he and his attorneys sat down the representatives of The Management Group this past weekend, reaching a settlement that satisfied both.
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The two parties signed a deal affirming that they were happy with their undisclosed arrangement. Experts assume the settlement will be approved before the court date, which is Aug. 15, and the trial will be canceled altogether. The Los Angeles Superior Court needs only to drop Depp’s action, over a year and a half old now.
The actor behaved unusually in regards to this lawsuit. He was the one to request a dealy in the trial, despite being the plaintiff in the case. On top of that, he repeatedly postponed his deposition for the case — not making time for it until last May.
Additionally, The Management Group’s action requesting judicial foreclosure on some of Depp’s properties is expected to be closed as well. The company made the filing back in November in retaliation against Depp, but it appears their settlement covered that case as well.
Coincidentally, the settlement is good news for Warner Bros, as the trial will not coincide with the studio’s attempt to advertise Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Fans are already upset at Depp’s inclusion in the film, as he has been accused of violence against ex Amber Heard.
Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling addressed the issue in a post on her website back in December.
“The agreements that have been put in place to protect the privacy of two people, both of whom have expressed a desire to get on with their lives, must be respected,” she wrote. “Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the filmmakers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies.”
“I accept that there will be those who are not satisfied with our choice of actor in the title role. However, conscience isn’t governable by committee. Within the fictional world and outside it, we all have to do what we believe to be the right thing,” she concluded.
