Meghan Markle is in the early stages of a lawsuit with her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle. Samantha’s newest demands could take up loads of Meghan’s time. Here’s what she’s asking for.
A Markle Family Refresher
Thomas Markle was once married to Roslyn Loveless Markle. Together they had two children: Samantha and Thomas Jr. When Thomas and Rosyln divorced in 1975, he soon met Doria Ragland. The two got married and had one daughter, Meghan, before splitting up two years later.
The divorce was finalized a few years after that. For a while, Meghan was close to both her parents. Her father was invited to her wedding to Prince Harry, but then everything changed. Thomas hired paparazzi to snap photos of him around Britain and began leaking Meghan’s letters to the press against her wishes. He’s now one of Meghan’s most ardent critics.
Samantha has followed directly in her father’s footsteps. She and Meghan were estranged well before the royal wedding, but that hasn’t stopped Samantha from targeting her half-sister to the press. She’s blamed Meghan for Thomas’s recent stroke and is suing Meghan for defamation of character. It’s one big ugly mess.
The Latest In The Lawsuit
In a civil lawsuit filed earlier this year, Samantha is taking Meghan to court over comments made in the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview and in the book Finding Freedom. Samantha is taking umbrage with Meghan’s comment about the two being “virtual sisters,” and she’s accusing Meghan of bogusly propagating a rags-to-riches story.
The latest twist comes from the tet-a-tet between the sisters’ lawyers. Samantha is asking a judge to order Meghan to sit for a deposition that could be up to seven hours long. Most civil lawsuits end well before reaching trial, but Samantha and her lawyers say they want this to see a jury. She’s seeking over $75,000 in damages.
Meghan Markle’s Lawyers Are Firing Back
Meanwhile, Meghan’s team of lawyers, including folks who have represented Michael Jackson’s estate and Kim Kardashian, have already filed a bid to dismiss the lawsuit. The team argues “this is a defamation case without any merit.” Specifically, they’re citing the fact that Meghan did not write Finding Freedom, writing: “The authors of Finding Freedom made the statements, and there are no allegations—nor could there be—that Meghan wrote that book or otherwise controlled its composition and editing.”
A judge will rule by June 3 whether or not the case can proceed. If it does, one can almost imagine Meghan settling just to get out of a seven-hour deposition.
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