Another tentative trial date has been set in Samantha Markle’s defamation claim against her half-sister Meghan – although the case could still be tossed or settled before next year.
A federal judge in Florida scheduled the trial to begin on November 4, 2024 and it is expected to last about five days, according to legal papers filed earlier this month.
The new date is the result of an amended suit filed by Samantha as her original defamation case against the Duchess of Sussex was thrown out earlier this year.
Samantha, 58, claims Meghan, 42, defamed her when she told Oprah during a 2021 interview with Prince Harry that she was “raised as an only child” and didn’t have much of a relationship with Samantha, the amended complaint states.
The updated lawsuit claims Meghan’s statements damaged Samantha’s reputation and the credibility of a book written by her sister titled “The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister Part 1” which details the half-siblings’ relationship when they were young.
Samantha is seeking $75,000 in damages.
Markle accused of defaming her half-sister in an Orpah 2021 interview. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
The initial lawsuit filed against Meghan in March 2022 was overturned when US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wrote in her order that Meghan’s statements were opinion and “not capable of being proven false.”
Attorneys for both sides argued before Judge Honeywell earlier this month whether the case linked to the amended complaint should proceed.
Peter Ticktin, the attorney for Samantha, told Newsweek he felt confident the case would not be dismissed this time.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. VIA REUTERS
“Once I explained how and why Meghan did what she did, to discourage readers from reading Samantha’s book with the name ‘Princess Pushy’ in it, the whole case made more sense,” he said.
Speaking to reporters outside court, Samantha, who has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, said she was “optimistic” about her case.
Meghan’s lawyer Michael Kump has called Samantha’s case baseless.
“It’s always been a lawsuit to find a viable claim,” Klump said. “The case fails because it runs afoul of defamation laws and the First Amendment.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
