Samantha Markle's Life 'Turned Upside Down' by Meghan's 'Fans'—Filing

Meghan Markle's half-sister has had her "life turned upside down by the royal
sister's faithful fans and others," according to a court filing seen by Newsweek.

Samantha Markle's legal team said the Duchess of Sussex was responsible for "the destructive public publishing of falsehoods," as they urged a judge not to halt the court process in a defamation case.

A court filing, seen by Newsweek, read: "Frankly, this is a situation where two siblings are at odds, due to the destructive public publishing of falsehoods by one royal sister against her common sister whose life has been turned upside down by the royal sister's faithful fans and others."

People in Britain who are untitled—meaning they are neither royal nor aristocratic—are sometimes referred to as "commoners."

Meghan is being sued for defamation and injurious falsehood over statements made to Oprah Winfrey in which she said she was raised as an only child and over the contents of the biography Finding Freedom, written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.

However, the royal's legal team have asked for the case to be thrown out, saying Meghan's words on CBS in March 2021 weren't defamatory and that the statements in the book weren't made by her.

They have also asked U.S. District Court, in the Middle District of Florida, to halt the process of collecting evidence, known as discovery, until after a ruling on whether the case will proceed.

Samantha Markle's lawyers said they should be given permission to continue seeking evidence in the case, with potential witnesses said to include Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey.

A recent filing by Meghan's team, seen by Newsweek, read: "In addition to the parties, she [Samantha] identified a whopping 19 non-party witnesses, including Prince Harry, Meghan's mother, Oprah Winfrey, and several journalists/media personalities who reside in the United Kingdom, including Scobie and Durand, the authors of Finding Freedom."

Also on the list is Meghan and Samantha's father, Thomas Markle, who has said publicly that he would appear on Samantha's behalf.

Meghan's lawyers' filing read: "A deposition of Mr. Markle at this juncture, along with other discovery, would be an unnecessary spectacle and waste of the parties' time, money, and resources.

"[Samantha Markle] should not be permitted to force Meghan and, potentially, numerous non parties to devote substantial resources to extraneous discovery while a meritorious motion that could dispose of the entire case is pending."

Thomas Markle previously told his YouTube channel, Remarkable Friendship: "I've been trying for almost four years to get to see my daughter and her ginger husband in a courtroom face-to-face. I haven't seen them face-to-face. I haven't seen my grandchildren. I'd be thrilled to come to court and talk and defend my oldest daughter [Samantha]."