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Meghan Markle has secured a favorable outcome in a defamation lawsuit initiated by her half-sister, Samantha Markle.
A U.S. District Attorney Judge, Charlene Honeywell, has thrown out the case, ruling in Meghan’s favor. The dismissal, made official in court documents obtained on Tuesday, comes after Samantha, aged 59, failed to provide enough evidence to support her claims that Meghan, aged 42, defamed her in various interviews, including one with Oprah Winfrey on CBS.
According to the court documents, Judge Honeywell stated that Samantha’s arguments seemed more like disagreements with Meghan’s opinions rather than factual claims.
Samantha, who shares a father with Meghan, won’t be able to file the lawsuit again as it was dismissed for good. She was seeking $75,000 in damages from Meghan for alleged defamation.
Samantha’s claims revolved around Meghan’s statements in interviews, particularly about their childhood and their relationship. Samantha also disagreed with how she was portrayed in the book “Finding Freedom,” co-authored by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, which focused on Meghan and Prince Harry’s lives.
However, an earlier ruling by Judge Honeywell in March 2023 had already decided that Meghan couldn’t be held responsible for statements made in a book she didn’t write. The judge also said Meghan’s statement about her childhood wasn’t something that could be proven false since it was just her opinion.
In her final decision, Judge Honeywell dismissed Samantha’s claims about “Finding Freedom” and gave her one last chance to change her claims about Meghan’s interview statements, but this time, under the charge of injurious falsehood.
