Meghan Markle is attempting to block her half-sister from deposing husband Prince Harry and father Thomas Markle in her defamation lawsuit.
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Samantha Markle is suing Meghan over her now-infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, as well as the material published in the Finding Freedom biography.
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Samantha's lawyers had confirmed that they want to depose Thomas between 5 and 21 October, and also wish to depose Prince Harry, and Oprah, for their testimony - Newsweek reports.
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But Meghan's legal team have hit back. They have requested a judge stop the process of collecting and releasing evidence until a ruling on whether the lawsuit should be entirely thrown out.
Samantha's lawyers want to depose Thomas Markle
They argue that Meghan's statements about her relationship with Samantha are "non-actionable opinion that are also substantially true".
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"A deposition of Mr. Markle at this juncture, along with other discovery, would be an unnecessary spectacle and waste of the parties' time, money, and resources," their filing read, via the publication.
Meghan's lawyers have suggested the lawsuit should be thrown out
"[Samantha Markle] should not be permitted to force Meghan and, potentially, numerous non parties to devote substantial resources to extraneous discovery while a meritorious motion that could dispose of the entire case is pending."
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The filing continued: "As discussed below, discovery in this case should be stayed pending resolution of the Motion to Dismiss because (1) the Motion is clearly meritorious and will dispose of the case; (2) a brief stay of discovery will not prejudice or harm [Samantha Markle]; and (3) discovery will harm Meghan, other non-parties, the Court, and the interests protected by the First Amendment."
Prince Harry was also named in the paperwork as a 'witness'
It also stated: "In addition to the parties, she [Samantha] identified a whopping 19 non-party witnesses, including Prince Harry, Meghan's mother, Oprah Winfrey, and several journalists/media personalities who reside in the United Kingdom, including Scobie and Durand, the authors of Finding Freedom."
