28 February 2023 , 19:24
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Meghan Markle’s half-sister faces paying millions of dollars in legal fees if she loses a defamation case against her Duchess of Sussex sister, according to an ex-US judge.
Samantha Markle filed a lawsuit against the couple following the tell-all interview in March 2021 with Oprah.
The 58-year-old, whose father is also Meghan's estranged dad Thomas Markle, claimed her half-sister made "demonstrably false and malicious statements" in the interview.
The Duchess responded with a motion to dismiss which, should she be successful, will mean Samantha ends up paying out millions of dollars.
Former US federal prosecutor Mitchel Epner, who now practices at the Rottenberg Lipman Rich P.C in New York City, said: "If Meghan Markle is successful in dismissing, then under what’s called the anti-SLAPP, she would be in a position to get her legal fees paid for by the plaintiff.
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Samantha's lawsuit came after the couple's interview with Oprah in 2021 (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese)“The threat to Samantha Markle that she might end up having to pay Meghan Markle’s legal fees, which given how long this case has gone on, we’re clearly in excess of $100,000,“ he told the Express.
Under US defamation law, the defamatory statement has to be considered in the context in which it was said.
“You can’t just strip out one phrase - that’s not the way it works."
He added the longer the case goes on, the more expensive it could possibly be for Samantha.
In their joint interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Harry and Meghan spoke about both their families and made a series of allegations about the Royal Family.
Samantha Markle claims she was defamed by her half sister (Inside Edition)Samantha Markle's original complaint, also obtained by PA, stated the comments made by the Sussexes during the interview had reached "roughly 50 million people in 17 countries".
In the filing she alleged she was defamed by Meghan in the interview when the duchess "falsely and maliciously" said that she was "an only child".
Plaintiff - who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair - brings this action for defamation based on demonstrably false and malicious statements made by her half-sister to a worldwide audience, including roughly 50 million people in 17 countries who watched the Oprah Winfrey interview with the Defendant, , and her husband, of England," the filing stated.
"Meghan - who was featured with Prince Harry on the cover of Time Magazine's annual feature on 'The World's Most Influential People' published and disseminated false and malicious lies designed to destroy Plaintiff's reputation and which have subjected Plaintiff to humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale."