LONDON —  Hollywood star Johnny Depp will seek permission on Thursday to appeal against his defeat in a London libel case last year over a tabloid article which labeled him a wife beater.

High Court Judge Andrew Nicol ruled last November that Mr. Depp had violently assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard during their tempestuous five-year relationship, at times putting her in fear for her life. That decision came after three weeks of hearings where the court heard sensational claims and counterclaims from Mr. Depp, 57, and Ms. Heard, 34, about violent outbursts which each accused the other of committing.

Mr. Depp, star of films including Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands, had gone to the London court to sue The Sun newspaper and one of its journalists over an article that stated he had been violent towards Ms. Heard.

“I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms. Heard by Mr. Depp have been proved to the civil standard,” said Mr. Nicol in his November ruling.

In the aftermath, Mr. Depp’s lawyers said the ruling was so flawed it would be ridiculous for him not to appeal. They said it was “troubling” that the judge had relied on Ms. Heard’s testimony while rejecting the evidence of police officers, her former assistant and other witnesses which they said had undermined her evidence.

On Thursday, Mr. Depp’s legal team will apply for permission to appeal, and to rely on further evidence. The hearing, expected to last for about two hours, will be livestreamed on the Court of Appeal’s YouTube channel.

Following Mr. Nicol’s verdict, seen as being highly damaging to his career, Mr. Depp was asked to leave the Fantastic Beasts franchise, the movie spin-offs from the Harry Potter books and films.

Mr. Depp has also filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Ms. Heard in a Virginia court over an opinion piece she wrote in The Washington Post. — Reuters

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