The Duchess of Sussex has had a legal victory after Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell dismissed the defamation case brought against Meghan Markle by her half-sister, Samantha Markle.
Samantha had filed the case following Meghan and Prince Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and their Netflix show Harry and Meghan. Amongst the comments that Samanatha was suing Meghan over included the royal's claims that she grew up as an only child and that Samantha had changed her surname back to Markle after the Duchess began her relationship with Harry.
Judge Honeywell dismissed the case "with prejudice" meaning that Samantha will not be able to refile the suit.
In a 58-page summary, the judge explained the case was being thrown out as she ruled that Meghan's statements either weren't defamatory or were based on "substantially true evidence".
© S Meddle/ITV/ShutterstockPart of the ruling read: "That [the] Plaintiff used one last name and then the name Markle soon after reports of [the] Defendant's relationship with Prince Harry were published is substantially true, based on the exhibits in the record, of which the Court has taken judicial notice, and the Court cannot reasonably infer otherwise."
Samantha was also suing Meghan over comments made in the book Finding Freedom, which was published by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in 2020. Judge Honeywell ruled in favour of Meghan on the basis that the Duchess couldn't be liable for the book's contents as she hadn't published it.
© Samir HusseinThe ruling follows a similar ruling last year with Judge Honeywell dismissing Samantha's lawsuit which accused the Duchess of spreading "demonstrably false and malicious lies" to a "worldwide audience".
According to the PA news agency, who had access to court papers, the judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the mother-of-two was expressing "an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling" and a statement of pure opinion was "not capable of being proved false".
© Karwai TangIn her ruling, she wrote: "As a reasonable listener would understand it, [the] defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings. Thus, the court finds that [the] defendant's statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof… [The] plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove [the] defendant's opinion of her own childhood."
The ruling comes shortly after Meghan and Harry paid a personal visit to Uvalde, Texas, to meet with the Garcia family who lost their matriarch Irma, a teacher at Robb Elementary School which was the scene of a mass shooting in 2022. Irma's husband, Joe, died days later, with his passing believed to be because of a broken heart.
© GettySpeaking to HELLO! about the visit, Irma's nephew John shared: "It truly meant the world that Harry and Meghan showed up to visit the family, there were lots of tears of joy and heartfelt moments. They were the kindest, most humble people ever, it was like having family and friends over having an amazing time together. They fit right in, we laughed a lot and shared intimate memories together."
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