Judge Charlene Honeywell, the US District Attorney, stated that Samantha’s claims “suggest” that she “disagrees” with Meghan’s “opinions.”
Samantha Markle, Meghan Markle’s half-sister, filed a slander lawsuit, and Meghan Markle won.
In court records filed on Tuesday and obtained by PEOPLE, US District Attorney Judge Charlene Honeywell dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Samantha,59, claimed Meghan,42, had defamed her in several interviews, including her interview with Oprah Winfrey on CBS.
The Florida judge stated in the document that Samantha was unable to provide testimony in support of her defamation claim, so the move to dismiss the case was granted.
According to Honeywell’s lawsuit, Samantha “disagrees” with Meghan’s “opinions rather than statements of fact” based on the allegations.
Michael J. Kump, Meghan’s lawyer, stated in a statement made available to PEOPLE that they “are pleased with the court’s ruling dismissing the case.”
Samantha, who shares a father, Thomas Markle, with Meghan, is not allowed to resubmit the complaint because it was dismissed with prejudice.
The Duchess of Sussex was the target of a $75,000 defamation lawsuit from the author.
Samantha was previously denied the right to file a defamation lawsuit against the Duchess of Sussex in March 2023 due to allegations made in Meghan’s unpublished biography Finding Freedom and in her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
When Samantha stated in her initial filing that she “grew up as an only child,” the Duchess of Sussex allegedly made false and defamatory remarks during her interview with Winfrey.
According to the documents, she and Meghan “were close during childhood,” but after Meghan began dating Prince Harry, they lost touch.
