Tampa judge to decide if defamation case against Meghan Markle by half-sister will advance

A Tampa federal judge heard arguments this week on whether a defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, by her estranged half-sister will move forward.

Samantha Markle, who suffers from multiple sclerosis which has confined her to a wheelchair, according to the initial complaint filed on March 3, 2022, is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 for defamation and defamation by implication.

Samantha Markle alleged in her complaints that Meghan Markle "published and disseminated false and malicious lies designed to destroy Plaintiff’s reputation and which have subjected Plaintiff to humiliation, shame, and hatred on a worldwide scale."

U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell will give a written decision in the near future, according to reports by Fox 13.

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The initial complaint states that Samantha Markle brought the lawsuit against her half-sister due to statements made during a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey which was viewed by roughly 50 million people, statements made in the best-selling book, "Finding Freedom," about the Duchess and Prince Harry, and countless derogatory news articles that have led to Samantha Markle receiving hateful and violent messages.

Specifically, during the March 7, 2021, interview with Oprah Winfrey, the complaint claims that the Duchess falsely and maliciously said she was an only child, hadn't seen her half-sister for almost 19 years, and Samantha Markle changed her last name around the time when Meghan Markle started dating Prince Harry.

Following the initial complaint, there have been two amended complaints in the case, and the Court has already dismissed part of the defamation case following a hearing on a motion to dismiss filed by the Duchess.

The second motion to dismiss mentioned that after the Court granted Meghan Markle's first motion and dismissed claims related to the book, it gave Samantha Markle a final opportunity to replead her case, questioning her "ability to state a defamation claim with respect to Meghan's statements in the CBS Oprah Winfrey interview."

In the most recent updated complaint, according to the second motion to dismiss the third amended complaint, Samantha Markle added a new defamation claim based on the December 2022 Netflix series Harry & Meghan.

Why is Samantha Markle suing her half-sister?

Among some of the alleged false statements listed in the initial complaint against the former Suits actress, Samantha Markle said her sister falsely stated that the two didn't have a relationship or were virtually strangers, that Samantha Markle was a high school dropout, that she lost custody of her three children who have three different fathers, and that Samantha Markle created stories to sell to the press.

These statements, according to the complaint, were echoed in the book and through media coverage to perpetuate a "fairy tale life story.''

Further, the complaint adds that the false information was targeted at Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle, so as to play into a "rags-to-royalty" story.

"Defendant orchestrated the campaign to defame and destroy her sister’s and her Father’s reputation and credibility in order to preserve and promote the false 'rags-to-royalty' narrative Defendant had fabricated about her life to the Royal Family and the worldwide media," the complaint states.

Some of what the complaint states as being false information said by Meghan Markle include that she raised herself in poverty, was forced to work low-paying jobs at 13 to make ends meet, worked to pay for her college, drove an old car with doors that malfunctioned, that her father refused to attend her wedding and the family could only afford a $4.99 salad bar at Sizzlers.

Samantha Markle contests that information, stating that their father was a successful television lighting director for decades with two Emmy Awards who paid for Meghan Markle to attend elite private schools, dance and acting classes, paid for Meghan Markle to attend Northwestern University, and helped his daughter to get a speaking role on "General Hospital" so Meghan Markle could join the Actor's Guild union.

Further, Samantha Markle adds that their father was unable to attend the Royal wedding because of medical reasons caused by the stress from the wedding and the constant paparazzi and media harassment.

The complaint also alleges that Meghan Markle knew the information in the book written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand was false, noting that the Duchess had to apologize to the British court for false statements during a trial in England after an email to her communications secretary was published globally which "proved she had blatantly lied."

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Motions to dismiss: Court grants part of Meghan Markle's motions

In the Duchess's first motion to dismiss, Meghan Markle's attorneys said the case was a "meritless defamation case" and that her half-sister added "irrelevant and spiteful allegations that are false" and shouldn't be in the complaint.

The motion states that the email mentioned in the complaint disproved Samantha Markle's claim that Meghan Markle was responsible for the defamatory statements made by the two authors of the book and that the complaint omitted the transcript from the Oprah Winfrey interview, thus removing context for the statements that were made.

"Clearly, Plaintiff recognized that providing context for the statements made in that interview eviscerated her claim that the statements were defamatory," the motion states.

The motion points out that Meghan Markle didn't write the book, so she can't be held liable for statements she didn't make. Further, Meghan Markle denies that the authors of the book reached out to her, including through her communications secretary.

Instead, the communications secretary, Jason Knauf, agreed to speak with the authors on background and the email that Meghan sent contained "some background reminders."

Since the book wasn't written by Meghan Markle, for her to be found liable for the statements, the motion states, that Samantha Markle would need to prove that the alleged defamatory statements could be traced to the Duchess. Additionally, the motion points out that the alleged false statements in the book aren't found in the email.

"The only potential commonality between the 2018 email and the allegedly defamatory statements in "Finding Freedom" is that "Finding Freedom" states that Meghan did not 'grow up with' Plaintiff, that Meghan 'barely saw' Plaintiff, and that Meghan and Plaintiff had 'never been close,'" the motion states.

As far as the "only child" comment, the motion explains that given the context of the interview, it was clear that Meghan Markle was expressing an opinion, which can't be falsifiable.

The second motion to dismiss states that the Court dismissed Samantha Markle's claims based on the book with prejudice, and without the Court's permission, Samantha Markle added a new defamation claim based on statements said in the Netflix series, which appear to be "just more of the same."

Again, the motion points out that Meghan Markle can't be liable for statements made by a non-party Christopher Bouzy, which are also not defamatory as most don't refer to Samantha Markle and the ones that do refer to the plaintiff are substantially true or opinions.

The motion states that Samantha Markle must prove that her half-sister acted with actual malice, meaning that she either had knowledge that a statement or information was false, or she recklessly disregarded whether it was false or not.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Tampa judge to decide defamation case against Duchess Meghan