Samantha Markle looks likely will get her day in court after a judge set a trial date in her defamation lawsuit against half-sister Meghan Markle.
The trial will begin in Tampa on November 4, 2024, a judge ruled this month. It is expected to last up to five days. She is seeking $75,000 in damages.
Samantha, 59, who has long been estranged from the Duchess of Sussex, alleges that she was defamed during the infamous Prince Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired in 2021.
In March, a judge in Florida threw out the suit saying that Meghan’s claims would be impossible to disprove but following amendments, the same judge appears to have ruled that there is merit to the claims.
During the interview, Meghan, 42, made references to growing up as an only child, something which Samantha resented, alleging that she had a normal sibling relationship with her younger half-sister.
Meghan Markle pictured at the Variety 2023 Power of Women event in California on November 16
Meghan and Harry’s Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021. She claimed she grew up an ‘only child’
In a decision dated November 14, the same judge set a trial date for November 2024, with ‘in person’ meetings scheduled beforehand. Meghan’s team has lodged another motion to appeal against Samantha’s current suit, that the judge is yet to rule on.
‘Until we get a decision on Meghan Markle’s Motion to Dismiss, we do not know whether the case will go forward, or not,’ Samantha’s lawyer Peter Ticktin told DailyMail.com.
‘I do believe, though, that this judge is fair and will do the right thing. My argument on the hearing on the Motion to Dismiss should carry the day, and I am optimistic as we are in the right,’ he added.
Samantha, who battles multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, said that those comments resulted in her being subjected to ‘humiliation and hatred’ while calling Meghan’s words in the interview ‘demonstrably false and malicious.’
Those comments hurt the sales of her book, The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister Part 1, Samantha claims.
Meghan’s lawyers have said that the former Suits’ star’s comments reflected her own personal experience.
In comments to The Messenger, Samantha Markle’s attorney, Peter Ticktin, said that he believed the trial could last longer than five days. As per civil court rules, Meghan is not expected to be present for proceedings.
Following her public statements, Samantha said that she has received death threats and alleges that after the airing of the Netflix hit Harry & Meghan, her Twitter account was suspended.
Samantha is Meghan’s father Thomas’s oldest daughter. The pair have different mothers.
Since Meghan’s engagement to Prince Harry, Samantha has appeared in countless TV and radio interviews.
She maintains that the pair were close in childhood and that she often ‘helped Meghan with her homework’ and took her on trips to the mall.
‘Once Meghan started to have success as an actress, she no longer had time for her older sister, Samantha, and by 2016, the two had stopped visiting, though there were no bad feelings between them, as far as Samantha knew.
‘Unfortunately, once Meghan met and began dating Prince Harry Meghan became hostile to Samantha, as well as her half-brother and her father, and Meghan’s relationship with Samantha became estranged,’ her lawsuit reads.
In her first version of the lawsuit, Samantha claimed Meghan intentionally defamed her by providing information to the authors of Finding Freedom that she says is false.
Among the tidbits was Meghan’s apparent claim that Samantha ‘dropped out of high school’.
Those details are scrubbed from the amended complaint, which focuses solely on Meghan’s remarks in the Oprah interview.
‘Once Meghan started to have success as an actress, she no longer had time for her older sister, Samantha, and by 2016, the two had stopped visiting, though there were no bad feelings between them, as far as Samantha knew.
Samantha Markle claims she and Meghan were close when Meghan was a child
Samantha Markle is seeking damages in excess of $75,000
‘Unfortunately, once Meghan met and began dating Prince Harry Meghan became hostile to Samantha, as well as her half-brother and her father, and Meghan’s relationship with Samantha became estranged,’ her lawsuit reads.
In her first version of the lawsuit, Samantha claimed Meghan intentionally defamed her by providing information to the authors of Finding Freedom that she says is false.
Among the tidbits was Meghan’s apparent claim that Samantha ‘dropped out of high school’.
Those details are scrubbed from the amended complaint, which focuses solely on Meghan’s remarks in the Oprah interview.