Johnny Depp to sue his business managers for $25 million as divorce from Heard is finalised

Although Depp may have closed the book on his divorce from Amber Heard, his legal issues aren't going away in 2017.

A report by Variety has confirmed that Johnny Depp is suing his former business management, which includes attorneys Joel Mandel, Robert Mandel, the Management Group and fifteen other unnamed defendants.

Depp is seeking a jury trial and $25,000,000 in damages against the accused. In fact, Depp's lawsuit claims that he's now been forced to sell off his assets in order to make up for the losses that his business managers have caused him.

Matthew Kanny, Depp's attorney, claims that his client is "the victim of the gross misconduct of his business managers — The Management Group and attorneys Joel and Robert Mandel — who collected tens of millions of dollars of contingent fees, purportedly based on an oral contract, all at Mr. Depp’s expense."

Kanny goes on, arguing that "as a result of years of gross mismanagement and at times, outright fraud, Mr. Depp lost tens of millions of dollars and has been forced to dispose of significant assets to pay for TMG’s self-dealing and gross misconduct."

Of course, TMG, Joel and Robert Mandel tell a different story altogether - namely that Depp was facing financial hardship through his own making. Their statement has it that "they (TMG, Robert and Joel Mandel) did everything possible to protect Depp from his irresponsible and profligate spending."

"In December 2012, Depp faced financial ruin with the impending default on a $5 million bank loan. The Mandels bailed him out by loaning him $5 million, which he promised to repay by January 2014. Although Depp later changed managers, he never alleged any wrong doing."

The statement from goes on, claiming that in 2016, Depp still owed the Mandels $4.2 million. They then brought non-judicial foreclosure proceedings against Depp to recoup their loan, however they claim that "Depp’s lawsuit, filed on the eve of the sale of those properties, is a transparent attempt to derail the foreclosure by concocting and spreading malicious lies about the Mandels."

Today marks the end of Depp's divorce from Amber Heard, with the actor paying out $7,000,000 to Heard who has pledged the money to a number of charities. Depp, meanwhile, will maintain ownership of numerous real estate assets, including properties in Los Angeles, Paris and his private island in the Bahamas. He will also keep more than 40 vehicles and vessels, including vintage cars and his motorcycle collection.

Via Variety