Here's How Meghan Markle Won Defamation Suit Brought Against Her by Half-Sister Samantha
A Florida court favored Meghan Markle in a defamation case because her half-sister Samantha Markle failed to produce evidence to support her claims. The half-sister accused the Duchess of spreading "malicious, hurtful, and damaging lies" in her interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
To Markle's relief, the case has been permanently dismissed, and in the latest development by the US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell demands the case should never be brought back to the court, reported The Mirror. The 58-page decision transpired after Samantha "failed to identify any statements that could support a claim for defamation or defamation-by-implication".
According to Judge Honeywell, this was Samantha's third attempt to amend her complaint and seek $75,000 in damages against her half-sister for telling Winfrey she "grew up as an only child" and had no relationship with her half-sister. Meanwhile, the 59-year-old also alleged the Duchess smeared their father's "reputation and credibility to preserve and promote a false 'rags-to-royalty' narrative."
However, the court declared her claims baseless due to a lack of evidence to back them. The judge wrote, "Defendant's ( Meghan Markle ) Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is GRANTED. The plaintiff's (Samantha Markle) Defamation Claims (Count One) are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Plaintiff's Defamation-By-Implication Claims (Count Two) are also DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE."
Although the court found Markle's account of her broken relationship with her half-sister and father as "opinions," Samantha insisted the exiled royal intentionally "demonized" her and portrayed her as a "liar and a fame seeker." She further alleged the 42-year-old's fanbase launched smear campaigns against her.
But Samantha's effort proved futile as the court saw Markle's words as personal opinions. The Duchess' attorney, Michael J Kump, released a statement to PEOPLE, "We are pleased with the court's ruling dismissing the case."
Markle was trying to establish herself as an actress in Hollywood before earning fame with her successful show Suits and marrying the Duke of Sussex Prince Harry. And the media's addiction to finding the nitty-gritty about her life began, highlighting her broken family bonds, and she soon became a tabloid favorite.
In the same interview Samantha referred to in her defamation lawsuit, the Suits alum said, "I grieve a lot. I mean, I've lost my father. I lost a baby. I nearly lost my name. I mean, there's the loss of identity." However, her father, Thomas Markle, had a response for his daughter.
In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Thomas said, "She's pretty much ghosted all of her family, on her mother's side and my side. So, she really had no one to reach out to. She would've had us if she'd kept us. We all make mistakes." Meanwhile, Samantha, in a separate CBS interview, condemned, "Depression is not an excuse for treating people like dishrags and disposing of them."
Markle is only close to her mother, Doria Ragland, and estranged from the rest.
