- Samantha Markle filed an amended lawsuit against Meghan in April of this year
- Her first defamation lawsuit in “Finding Freedom” was dismissed
- She continues to claim that Meghan defamed her by telling Oprah Winfrey that she grew up “an only child.”
- The trial date is set for November 2024 in Tampa, Florida
- The judge has not yet responded to Meghan’s request to dismiss the new lawsuit
Another trial date has been set for Meghan Markle’s court battle with her half-sister Samantha.
Samantha, 59, claims Meghan defamed her when she said she grew up as an only child in her Oprah Winfrey interview.
She claims the remark, along with Meghan’s comment that she “doesn’t really know her,” is defamatory. Samantha is now seeking $75,000 in damages.
The judge dismissed the case in March, but an amended complaint was filed the following month. Meghan filed a motion to dismiss the amended lawsuit in May, but the judge has yet to rule on the motion.
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 as an “only child.”
In a Nov. 14 ruling, the same judge set a trial date for November 2024, with “in-person” meetings previously scheduled.
Since the case is being heard in civil court, Meghan will not have to appear if the case is heard.
Her legal team did not immediately respond to ‘s inquiries.
Samantha is the eldest daughter of Meghan’s father Thomas. The couple has different mothers.
Since Meghan’s engagement to Prince Harry, Samantha has appeared in countless television and radio interviews.
She claims that the couple were close growing up and that she often “helped Meghan with her homework” and took her on trips to the mall.
Samantha Markle claims she and Meghan were close when Meghan was a child
Samantha Markle is seeking over $75,000 in damages
“When Meghan began to achieve success as an actress, she no longer had time for her older sister Samantha, and in 2016 the two stopped visiting each other, although as far as Samantha knew there were no bad feelings between them.”
“Unfortunately, as Meghan met and began dating Prince Harry, Meghan became hostile toward Samantha, her half-brother, and her father, and Meghan’s relationship with Samantha became estranged,” her lawsuit says.
In her first version of the lawsuit, Samantha claimed that Meghan intentionally defamed her by providing the authors of “Finding Freedom” with information that she said was false.
The tidbits included Meghan’s apparent claim that Samantha “dropped out of high school.”
Those details were removed from the amended complaint, which focuses solely on Meghan’s comments in the Oprah interview.
Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle