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Case against Duchess of Sussex dismissed
A US judge has dismissed a defamation case brought against the Duchess of Sussex by her half-sister.
Samantha Markle was suing Meghan over comments she made in a Netflix documentary and in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In her ruling, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell concluded that these comments were opinions, substantially true or did not plausibly defame Samantha.
The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning you will not be able to file it again.
Samantha had taken issue with Meghan’s comment, made in her interview with Winfrey, that Samantha had changed her last name to Markle when her half-sister started dating the Duke of Sussex.
But in her ruling, Judge Honeywell said: “The court has taken note of the fact that (Samantha) used the surname Rasmussen in September 2016 and Markle two months later, shortly after the royal relationship was first reported. (from Meghan).
“Therefore, the essence of the statement – that (Samantha) changed her last name shortly after it was reported that (Meghan) was involved with Prince Harry – is true.”
The lawsuit also questioned Meghan’s comments about how close they were growing up, with Meghan telling Winfrey, “I grew up an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wish I had siblings.”
Judge Honeywell ruled that this was Meghan’s expressed view of the relationship.
The judge added that Samantha had not identified any statements that could support a defamation claim.
According to the court document, this was Samantha’s third attempt to amend her complaint against Meghan, with whom she shares a father, Thomas Markle.
She first took legal action in March 2022, alleging that the duchess had defamed her by providing information to an unauthorized biography called Finding Freedom and by discussing her relationship with Winfrey on live television.
The case was dismissed last year after Judge Honeywell ruled that the duchess could not be responsible for the book’s contents because she had not published it.
