Meghan Markle is attempting to stop her half-sister from calling her father Thomas Markle and husband Prince Harry as witnesses in her defamation case.
Samantha Markle is suing Meghan over both the information contained in the Finding Freedom biography and her now-famous interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
According to Newsweek, Samantha’s attorneys have stated that they intend to summon Thomas between October 5 and 21 as well as Prince Harry and Oprah for testimony.
But Meghan’s legal counsel has responded. They have asked the judge to halt the gathering and distribution of evidence pending a decision on whether to completely dismiss the lawsuit.
According to them, Meghan’s claims about her friendship with Samantha are “non-actionable opinion that are also substantially true.”
According to their filing, which was obtained by the publication, “A deposition of Mr. Markle at this time, along with other discovery, would be an unnecessary spectacle and waste of the parties’ time, money, and resources.”
“[Samantha Markle] should not be allowed to compel Meghan and, potentially, numerous non parties, to expend significant resources on extraneous discovery while a meritorious motion that could end the case is pending,” the court ruled.
According to the filing, “Discovery in this case should be stayed pending resolution of the Motion to Dismiss because (1) the Motion is clearly meritorious and will conclude the matter; (2) a brief stay of discovery will not prejudice or harm [Samantha Markle]; and (3) discovery will harm Meghan, other non-parties, the Court, and the interests protected by the First Amendment.”
The statement continued, “In addition to the parties, she [Samantha] identified a whopping 19 non-party witnesses, including Prince Harry, Meghan’s mother, Oprah Winfrey, and several British journalists and media figures, including Scobie and Durand, the authors of Finding Freedom.”
