Samantha Markle says ‘this is not protection’ after Sussexes trailer

Meghan Markle faces a court battle with her half-sister after Samantha Markle revealed she was suing the former actress for libel.

A court filing has revealed that the courtroom showdown could still go ahead, despite Meghan’s lawyers arguing the case has no merit and urging Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell to throw the case out at Federal Court in Tampa, Florida.

Samantha claims the Duchess of Sussex “degraded their relationship” during her interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

She said Meghan made defamatory statements including, “I grew up as an only child”, which “everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings”.

Meghan said she lived with her mother during the week and her father on weekends, but said her father Thomas Markle lived alone because his adult children had moved out.

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A court filing seen by Newsweek reads: “Plaintiff Samantha Markle, and Defendant Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, by and through their respective undersigned counsel of record, hereby request that the Court hold oral argument in connection with Defendant’s pending Motion to Dismiss the Third Amended Complaint, in light of the extensive briefing by the parties. Counsel estimates a total of 60 minutes for oral argument.”

The complaint also targets Meghan’s statements to Netflix, including: “I was with my mum during the week and with my dad on the weekends. And my dad lived alone, he had two adult children who had moved out of his house.”

“You’re telling people you raised me,” she added.

Samantha’s lawyers said: “The series undermined Samantha. It both directly stated and implied that everything Samantha was saying or had said was a lie.”

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“Meghan continues to participate in and perpetuate the lies around her family and upbringing, and where Meghan could have set the record straight, she did not.

“Instead, Meghan continues the hurtful lies being told about her sister, Samantha; lies that have defamed Samantha and the negative fallout that has there from occurred.”

The case has been dismissed before, and the judge has suggested this will be her final attempt at getting her libel allegations to trial.

“Three times [Samantha] has tried—and failed—to turn a personal grudge into a federal case for reasons unbeknownst to Meghan, relying solely on non-actionable opinions and third-party statements. This action should be dismissed with prejudice.”

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In March, a Florida judge dismissed the lawsuit saying the duchess was “expressing an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling”. They added that a statement of opinion was “not capable of being proved false”.

In a court order, US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wrote: “As a reasonable listener would understand it, the defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.

“Thus, the court finds that the defendant’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof…. plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove the defendant’s opinion of her own childhood.”

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