A Florida judge has struck its gavel in favor of Meghan Markle to have her half-sister’s defamation lawsuit against her dismissed.
On Thursday, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell approved for Markle’s “desired judicial notice for a motion to dismiss” the lawsuit that claims the royal fabricated her “rags to royalty” life story, Newsweek reported.
Following Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Samantha Markle blasted Markle in a lawsuit for spreading lies in her interview in order to paint a narrative of being victimized by her leeching family members. Samantha Markle also pointed out how Meghan Markle referred to herself as an “only child” during the interview despite the half-sisters sharing the same father, Thomas Markle.
In the suit, the Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister author also claimed that Meghan Markle lied when she said the last time she saw her sister was “at least 18, 19 years ago and before that, 10 years before that.” Meghan Markle also got blasted for lying when she insinuated that Samantha Markle only changed her surname to Markle after Meghan started dating Prince Harry.
“This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior,” Meghan Markle’s attorney Michael Kump said in a statement, per TMZ. “We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves.”
In a deferred judgment, Honeywell backed Markle’s defense that she gave her “opinion” during her interview with Winfrey and that she did not pen Finding Freedom, which told, “the first, epic and true story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s life together.” The undisputed authors of the book are Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, not the duchess.
“Thus, the court finds that defendant’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof…. plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove defendant’s opinion of her own childhood,” Honeywell wrote in court papers, according to BBC.
The judge denied Meghan Markle’s request for damages, which would have required Samantha Markle to cover her sister’s legal fees.
In addition, Samantha Markle gets another opportunity to present her case again over the Oprah interview comments.