A judge has set a date for a trial in the legal battle between Meghan Markle and her half-sister Samantha Markle.
Meghan is being sued by her relative who accuses her of lying about her upbringing in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey and claims the Duchess of Sussex defamed her by telling untruths about her and her family. However, Meghan's lawyers hit back and denied she lied in the explosive chat about growing up an only child. Now a judge in Florida has set a trial date for October 2, 2023, with the trial lasting no more than five days should they fail to settle the matter during mediation.
They must agree on a mediator by the end of September and complete discovery by May.
However, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wants both sides to swiftly make submissions to "discourage wasteful pretrial activities".
Samantha is seeking $75,000 (£56,500) from her half-sister and has demanded a trial by jury for the case.
According to Samantha, who shares the same father as the former actress, Meghan's “rags to royalty” story is “false”.
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She claims she “fabricated” details of her background to the Royal Family, the media and during TV interviews.
Samantha also accuses her half-sibling of launching a “premeditated campaign to destroy” her and her father's reputation.
However, in papers filed to a court in Florida last month, Meghan's lawyers argued that her statement about growing up an only child was not meant to be "objective fact" but rather a subjective statement of her own feelings.
They add that her description of growing up as an only child cannot be false because it is a "textbook example of a subjective statement of how a person feels about their childhood" and moved to dismiss the case.
The papers state: "Plaintiff [Samantha] first asserts that she can disprove that Meghan "grew up as an only child". But this perception is entirely unfalsifiable. It is hard to imagine a more personal and subjective feeling than how one views their own childhood.
"Moreover, Plaintiff's opposition completely ignores the context of the statement where Ms Winfrey asked Meghan about her relationship with Plaintiff.
"Meghan's response was obviously not meant to be a statement of fact that she had no genetic siblings or half-siblings.
"Rather it was a textbook example of a subjective statement about how a person feels about her childhood."
Previously, a lawyer acting on behalf of Meghan branded the lawsuit “baseless and absurd” adding they would give it “the minimum attention necessary”.
Her attorney Michael Kump said: "This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behaviour. We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves."
