Meghan Markle Attempts To Dismiss Sister Samantha's Defamation Lawsuit For 2nd Time

Meghan Markle Attempts To Dismiss Sister Samantha's Defamation Lawsuit For 2nd Time

KEY POINTS

  • Meghan Markle filed a new motion to dismiss her sister Samantha's defamation suit but was denied once more
  • The Duchess of Sussex alleged that Samantha "fabricated one of the statements" to save her case
  • Meghan filed her first motion to dismiss Samantha's allegations on June 17, but it was denied as moot

Meghan Markle has once again attempted to have her half-sister Samantha Markle's defamation lawsuit against her tossed, but a judge denied the duchess' request.

The Duchess of Sussex first filed a motion to dismiss Samantha's allegations against her on June 17, but it was denied as moot because the latter filed an amended complaint.

In new court documents obtained by Us Weekly Monday, the former "Suits" star argued against her half-sister's claims in her "meritless defamation case."

The duchess alleged in the documents that her sibling "deleted numerous specific factual allegations and exhibits from her original complaint," claiming that the facts would "completely undermine" Samantha's case.


"Most obviously, her original complaint attached a 2018 email from Meghan to the then-Communications Secretary of Kensington Palace, Jason Knauf, that Plaintiff alleged was the basis for the allegedly defamatory statements in Finding Freedom," the documents read. "However, the email on its face disproved Plaintiff's claim that Meghan was somehow responsible for the authors' allegedly defamatory statements in 'Finding Freedom.'"

Meghan's motion further alleged, "Indeed, in her desperation to save her case, Plaintiff quite literally fabricated one of the statements, as evidenced by the missing interview transcript."

Samantha filed her defamation lawsuit against Meghan back in March, alleging that the duchess lied about their family in her sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey in March last year. She also accused Meghan of making up stories about growing up in "virtual poverty."

Samantha's lawsuit claimed that Meghan lied about her and their dad Thomas Markle Sr. so they "could not interfere with or contract the false narrative and fairytale life story [she] concocted." The author also alleged that her royal sibling negatively affected her autobiography and prevented her from getting jobs, leaving her emotionally and mentally distressed.

During her interview with Winfrey, Meghan claimed that she grew up as an only child and that the last time she had seen her half-sister was "at least 18 or 19 years ago." She also claimed that Samantha changed her last name back to Markle only after the former actress started dating Prince Harry.

In her latest motion, Meghan argued that this matter "has no place" in any court. "We do not empanel juries to rule on whether two people are 'close,' or whether one genuinely feels that they 'grew up as an only child.' Courts are not equipped to adjudicate the legitimacy of a person's feelings about their childhood and relationships. Nor should they be," the duchess' filing stated.

Meghan also requested to be awarded her attorneys' fees.

Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell denied Meghan's motion on June 21.

Meghan Markle THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - APRIL 17: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watches the sitting volley ball competition on day 2 of the Invictus Games 2020 at Zuiderpark on April 17, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images