Meghan Markle faces 'discovery' in looming trial that could force he to reveal private texts
Friday, November 10, 2023
Meghan Markle may be forced to release private communications as part of her half-sister Samantha Markle's ongoing defamation lawsuit.
Samantha appeared in court this week in an attempt to secure a July 2024 trial date against Meghan, who she claims defamed her in interviews and Netflix documentaries.
Samantha is seeking more than $75,000 in damages because Meghan's comments hurt sales of her memoir Princess Pusha's Sister Diary. If the process goes ahead as planned, Meghan will have until January 2 to undergo "discovery", which will require the production of relevant texts, emails and documents.
Samantha originally filed a defamation lawsuit in March 2022, accusing Meghan of malicious and damaging lies about her to the media. She claims that the comments in Finding Freedom and Meghan's Oprah interview tried to portray her in a negative light.
The amended lawsuit also cites remarks about their relationship in the Netflix series The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
However, Michael Kump, representing Meghan, denied that any of her statements carried any weight. He argued that the lawsuit had no legal basis under defamation or free speech law. Still, Samantha seems optimistic about her case progressing to the trial stage where she would have access to Meghan's private communications.
While Meghan was not in court, the latest proceedings indicated that Samantha is pushing forward in an effort to prove her defamation allegations and potentially reveal more details about their family dynamic through discovery.
