Despite Meghan Markle's recent courtroom victory, her legal battle with estranged half-sister Samantha Markle continues. According to The Telegraph, Samantha's legal team plans to refile a "stronger" defamation case against the Duchess of Sussex, focusing on comments made during Meghan and Prince Harry's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Samantha's lawyers revealed their strategy after a Florida judge dismissed part of the defamation case related to the 2020 Sussexes biography, "Finding Freedom," by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. In her $75,000 lawsuit, Samantha accused Meghan of spreading "demonstrably false and malicious lies" in the unauthorized biography and CBS interview.
Samantha's defamation claims included Meghan's statement that she "grew up as an only child" and the accusation that Samantha "changed her last name back to Markle" after Meghan began dating Prince Harry. Samantha also objected to a chapter in "Finding Freedom" called "A Problem Like Samantha."
U.S. District Attorney Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell ruled in Meghan's favor, finding that the duchess "cannot be held liable for statements in a book that she did not publish" and that her statement about growing up as an only child is a protected opinion, according to People.
Judge Honeywell said, "As a reasonable listener would understand it, Defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-s siblings. Thus, the Court finds that Defendant's statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof."
Although Samantha can no longer sue Meghan for defamation based on claims in the biography, the judge granted her one last chance to replead her claims related to Meghan's CBS interview and her claim for injurious falsehood.
With the legal battle far from over, Samantha's team is poised to move forward, focusing their attention on the Oprah Winfrey interview. Meghan's statements during that conversation may prove to be a central point of contention as Samantha's lawyers refile their case, seeking a more favorable outcome for their client.
