After two years of hearings and filings, a federal judge handed Meghan Markle a court victory in the defamation case her half-sister filed against her in 2022. The judge dismissed Samantha Markle’s lawsuit with prejudice, meaning she cannot refile the case. U.S. District Attorney Judge Charlene Honeywell dismissed with prejudice.
This means the plaintiff, Samantha Markle, is barred from filing a lawsuit on the same issue ever again. Samantha, 59, claimed Meghan, 42, defamed her in multiple interviews. She accused the Duchess of Sussex of lying about her relationship with her and their father, Thomas Markle, on several occasions.
Samantha pointed explicitly to the tell-all interview Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, did with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. Also, the Duchess’ estranged half-sister pointed to a 2022 Netflix documentary, “Harry and Meghan.” Meghan says in both projects that she grew up as an only child and wasn’t close to her father or half-sister.
Samantha’s Complaint
Besides saying Meghan Markle lied about their closeness, Samantha claimed the Duchess of Sussex made defamatory statements towards her during the 2021 interview. Meghan said during the interview that Samantha “changed her last name back to Markle” after she began dating Harry.
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In her complaint, Samantha said that thanks to all the publicity those projects received, people “turned against” her. Furthermore, Meghan’s half-sister said they saw her as “an opportunist trying to cash in on her sister’s success and fame, despite having no relationship with her.”
How Much Did Samantha Request for Damages?
According to court documents, Samantha requested $75,000 in damages for defamation. The Duchess’ half-sister claims her statements implied she was a “deceptive fame-seeking imposter with avaricious intentions.”
Also, she stated in the court documents that the damages would make up for “lost employment, lost income from sales of her autobiography, emotional and mental distress.” Also, she claimed it would make up for the threatening and violent texts, emails, and messages she receives regularly and harm to her reputation and credibility.
The Judge’s Decision
U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell ultimately disagreed, saying Samantha “failed to identify any statements that could support a defamation claim” in either the documentary or the Winfrey interview.
In the filing, Honeywell wrote that the allegations “suggest” that Samantha “disagrees” with Meghan’s “opinions rather than statements of fact.” Samantha also took issue with the contents of a chapter, “A Problem Like Samantha,” in the book “Finding Freedom,” written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in August 2021.
This chapter focused on Harry and Meghan’s love story and their step back from their roles as senior working royals. Honeywell ruled in March 2023 that Meghan could not “be held liable for statements in a book that she did not publish.”
Also, the judge said telling Oprah she “grew up as an only child” was not falsifiable because it was a protected opinion. Hence, Honeywell dismissed the case.
Dismissed Case
“As a reasonable listener would understand it, Meghan simply expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.” Honeywell wrote. “Thus, the Court finds that Meghan’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof.”
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The judge concluded that Samantha had a problem with Meghan’s opinions and insinuations, not any statements of fact. In a statement, Michael J. Kump, Meghan’s lawyer, said he and the Duchess were “glad with the court’s ruling dismissing the case.”
After the Dismissed Case
“We do not impanel juries to rule on whether two people are ‘close,’ or whether one genuinely feels they grew up as an only child,” Honeywell said. “Courts are not to adjudicate the legitimacy of a person’s feelings about their childhood and relationships.” The judge continued, “This dispute has no place in this court or any other.”
Following the verdict, Meghan Markle’s attorney, Michael J. Kump, released a statement. “We are glad with the court’s ruling dismissing the case,” he said. Meanwhile, Samantha’s lawyer said the ruling was “very upsetting,” and she plans to appeal. “Don’t count us out,” he wrote in an email, “just delayed.”
The judge also stated that Samantha’s “Finding Freedom” claim would be “dismissed with prejudice.” However, the case wasn’t all gloom and doom for the Duchess’ half-sister. The judge gave her one final opportunity to “replace her claims” related to the Winfrey interview “for injurious falsehood.”
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