Meghan Markle’s Half-Sister Calls for Prince Harry to Testify in Lawsuit Alleging Willful Evidence Withholding

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Samantha Markle, half-sister of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, has filed two motions in a lawsuit against the Duchess. Markle sued Meghan in March 2022, claiming that the Duchess made “false and malicious” statements in her 2020 biography “Finding Freedom.” Markle is seeking to take the depositions of Prince Harry, royal insiders, and her estranged family members in the case.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry married in May 2018 and stepped back from royal life in January 2020. In a primetime interview with Oprah Winfrey, a Netflix special, and Harry’s book “Spare,” the couple shared stories of strife, racism, and targeted bullying that led to their decision to move to California. Meghan referred to her half-sister in the interview with Oprah Winfrey, describing herself as an “only child” and saying she only saw Samantha sporadically over the past three decades. Samantha Markle claims she suffered “actual damages” due to the alleged false statements, including lost employment and income, emotional distress, and threatening and violent emails. She is suing for an undetermined amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

Meghan has filed a motion to dismiss the case, and Samantha Markle’s motions offer insight into the discovery process. Markle attached discovery requests to her motions to compel, which reveal that Meghan has objected to the requests, arguing that they are inappropriate and that a motion to dismiss is pending. Samantha Markle has asked the judge to order Meghan to provide substantive responses to discovery requests and to coordinate depositions of herself, Prince Harry, their former communications secretary, a tech executive, Markle’s estranged daughter, and Thomas Markle.

  

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Meghan’s lawyers have objected partly because there is no protective order to keep documents sealed. Meghan’s attorney claims that most of the proposed deponents have no connection to the alleged defamatory comments and that most of Markle’s written discovery requests also have no connection to the complaint. Lawyers for Meghan Markle have also filed a motion to stay discovery pending the outcome of the motion to dismiss.

Samantha Markle claims that the Duchess is stonewalling at every turn, as she has failed to produce responsive documents or answer any interrogatories. A hearing on Meghan’s motion to dismiss the case is set for February 15, and lawyers for the Duchess have not yet filed a response to Markle’s motions.

In conclusion, the case between Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and her half-sister Samantha Markle is progressing, with Samantha Markle seeking to take depositions and Meghan Markle objecting to the discovery requests. A hearing on Meghan’s motion to dismiss the case is set for February 15, and the outcome will determine the future course of the lawsuit.

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Meghan Markle’s half-sister accuses Duchess of ‘willfully withholding evidence and stonewalling’ in lawsuit, wants Prince Harry to testify under oath