War of the words. Since 2016, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been struggling to end their divorce quietly. Both claim the other ex-spouse was the abusive one in the relationship; however, Depp has filed a defamation claim in Virginia. Why was the lawsuit not filed in California where both parties live? Heard’s lawyer claims Depp “forum shopped” in order to find the most advantageous forum for his claim.
Venue is inappropriate when the venue in the complaint is improper, no impartial trial could be held, no judge in the venue is qualified to act, or for convenience reasons. A balancing test must take place when considering to transfer the venue. This test consists of two factors: private factors and public factors. The private factors are ease of access to sources of proof, cost of obtaining attendance of Depp and Heard both live in California, which would push the private factors towards California and not Virginia. The public interest factors are avoidance of overburdening local courts, protecting interests of potential jurors so they are deciding cases of concern to local community, and weighing interest of Virginia and the alternative jurisdiction. Neither Depp nor Heard lives in Virginia.

I struggle seeing why Virginia is the proper venue over California. Virginia authority is split between using the lex loci delicti rule, which is Latin for the place of the wrong where the tort was committed, and the “significant relationship” test. Since the defamation is based on a Washington Post article, Virginia was able to retain the case with their forum. Stay tuned to find out if the case gets transferred and to find out the outcome of Depp’s lawsuit.